Write what you know

Every person who's taken a writing class has heard it. Every creative writing teacher has preached it. Everybody who's tried to buck the system has found out it's true: "Write about what you know."

I'm generally pretty successful at envisioning what I need for a game scene, even when it's something I haven't personally experienced (killing somebody, fighting with swords, blowing up an electric plant...you get the idea).

The last 24 hours, however, Chyna learned. The adage is true. I had no idea how hard it'd be to "orchestrate" a childbirth! (Nope, no little Chynettes running around.) Thank ghod my partner players & I opted out of a blow-by-blow description & went straight from labor pains to deed accomplished. (The middle part is yuchy anyway. Besides, we ARE PG-rated after all.) To my partners--I hope you were satisfied with how it turned out!

The next time a player comes to me wanting to choreograph an awesome new scene, I think I'll do a little more question-asking to see what's really involved. Actually, since some of my in-game characters are guys? There are DEFINITELY "realisms" this girl does not intend to explore! Enough said. --Chyna

Announcing a new, in-game newspaper for S-4

From "The Tribe" Season 2, I always appreciated the strategy of Jack & Ellie starting a city newspaper. Dal found the old amulet out at the farm & gave it to Ellie...and The Amulet was born.

The newspaper was originally meant to let the city know what was going on with all the tribes. Then came the best twist: our heroes used the paper to investigate the Virus. The Amulet asked kids to send news clippings, articles, reports, old documents--anything at all that might be connected with the death of the adults. It worked, too. Jack & Ellie learned everything. Later, The Amulet was used to promote elections for a City Leader. Ah, the power of the press. . .

When we began using an in-game newsletter in KTDARPG, we discovered the advantages.
(1) It helped tie players' actions into a recognizable whole.
(2) It was a handy way to promote the game.
(3) It helped move the plot when we got bogged down.
(4) It gave us a perspective on the game that was more global--seeing the Big Picture & how we were all moving toward the same goals.

In the game's season-3, "Stacy," the editor of the Fort River News for the Tribes, was killed in the hurricane. Tom-F, the newspaper's sponsor, lost his empire & vanished. (We still don't know if he's alive or dead.) It looked like our in-game newspaper had run its course.

Just after the game season 4 started, our Game Master asked me if I was up to keeping an in-game newspaper going. It's not been easy thinking up a different premise & approach for a new media venture in-game, but I think we've finally done it. I just posted the first edition of Fort River After Dark. The twist is that the origins of this paper are totally mysterious. Whoever's putting it out proudly announces that the paper is strictly neutral. Independent. Free of pressures & bipartisanship. The paper will report both sides of any issue--and whatever rumors & gossip are on the streets. To quote the first edition:

What we do have is NEWS. Ok, maybe not all the facts all the time.

So what? If all we have is gossip 'n rumor, that's what we'll print.

We'll let YOU decide what's real, what's not, what's truth or

what's just stupid. Got a brain? Use it!

It'll be interesting to see how Fort River After Dark works inside the game.

Oh, and in case you were wondering? We were very serious about the "neutral" part. Our Game Master has promised me a free hand, to see how it works. The paper won't take sides, but will definitely be stirring the pot that is the city of Fort River, 24/7. --Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

After Dark

The sun has set on the first game-day of Season-4. Now the game gets interesting.

The season has opened. The ground rules are laid. The players are set. The characters are in game.

What's left? Ah, the fun part. What's left is the season-spanning plot, the single thread that will weave all of our characters & actions & ambitions into one story that will compel us all to the end.

What will it be? And even more important...has it already begun?

As darkness settles across the city, think about it. Has there been a single incident, a conversation, a chance meeting, a seemingly insignificant scene that fell under your radar but that signals the start of something special? Maybe that group of strangers only a day away from Fort River. Or maybe the mysterious "Dynesraad" that has grown out of the old Fort River City Council. Maybe it has to do with the Misfits, a tribe almost decimated & now trying to rebuild again. Maybe the warning message from Brena to the River Rats. Maybe...ah, so many possibilities.

If you can't tell, Chyna's smiling. Oh, I have a few thoughts but nothing I care to share quite yet.

The game always gets most interesting after dark. --Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Beginnings

From it's beginning, "The Tribe" dealt with both death & life. Death was obvious & the major premise of the series. Death surrounded our heroes--the adults, their friends, families & lovers. Death was always possible.

Life was something else again. We started with Trudy, who began Season-1 as a pregnant teen & went pretty much through 5 seasons defined by her "motherhood." Her story was a big part of the 2nd season, where her child (Zoot's daughter) was in the center of an ongoing power struggle.

Then it's Season-2. Salene's pregnant. Unfortunately, she lost her & Ryan's baby.

Season-3 & now Amber's pregnant with Bray's baby. The minute that happened, you knew the two of them were doomed. Sorry, but in Tribe-world, love & babies do not equal happily-ever-after.

And so it is in KTDARPG. There hasn't been a lot of pregnancies & babies so far. There was Kava; but almost the minute her baby was born at the Army base, the player disappeared & that thread was dropped. Brena was pregnant; unfortunately she lost the baby (and we never did know who the father was). And now Arianna is pregnant with Judge's baby, the love of her heart who was killed in the last Anti-kids war.

As in Tribe-world, our game-world is not kind to lovers & babies. Could be why, in both worlds, we constantly get the caveat about birth control & safe sex. That's probably a warning that should be heeded, if any of our players want to hold onto the lovers they have.

Just one of those things that make you go..."hmmmm." --Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Endings

From "The Tribe" Season-1, one scene that stands out dramatically is the much-too-early demise of Zoot, when he was fighting with Lex &took a header off the mall's 2nd level railing. Many fans'll say the same--and I guess the writers/producers wound up agreeing. Zoot is one character who (tell me if I'm wrong) had pivotal scenes in all 5 seasons of "The Tribe," even though he was dead very, very early in Season-1.

As death played out in many ways in the tv series, it's also played out in KTDARPG. It takes a lot for a player to decide to "off" a character, especially one who's added a lot to the game. We even have a Book of the Dead to honor the pseudo-lives of characters no longer with us.

All of which probably means I'm trying to justify the upcoming death of a character. I've killed off characters before, major & minor...it's still not a small thing. Inside the game, we know how a character can take on a life of his/her own. Sometimes they even get in our heads enough to write their own stories. Makes it great for the story; but there comes a time when you don't want a character to just fade to black or ride out of town.

When it comes to this game, I'm convinced it is indeed "better to burn out than fade away."

So I guess, if you're interested, watch for it. Character-death coming.
--Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Defining "success"

It started with an off-the-cuff comment, and it got me to wondering. (You know me, curious as hell.)

The comment was:
"I started looking for other rpgs, and I learned that this is the most successful rpg out there right now.

Hey, we all enjoy the game--but was that possible? Well, let's see...

1) In just over 18 months, we've completed 3 game-seasons & 7,000+ posts. Take my word for it, that's a lot, guys!

2) We're PG-rated. A lot of "Tribe"-related games are adult-themed, darker than ours (meaning a higher sexual content & some pretty gory violence). Nothing at all wrong with that, but it gives us a bit of a broader audience. We have stellar players under age 18 (you know who you are!). KTDARPG has had its share of sex & violence, but we work hard to make sure it isn't gratuitous or too far out. With an all-ages audience, it tends to make you approach those subjects with more creativity & fewer...graphics.

3) Our game-structure is easy to understand. KTDARPG is text-based, without the tags & codes a lot of other games utilize. Hey, tags work & cut down on confusion in a lot of ways. But without tags, the stories & threads in KTDARPG tend to be less convoluted, more direct & usually easier to follow.

4) KTDARPG has some reference materials that others don't use a lot--seasonal digests & in-game newsletters. Digests encapsulate/ summarize entire seasons for easy reference when a player needs to check back on some facts. The in-game newsletters add color to our game-world. They tend to give reference points & embellish details, freezing some moments & making sure all players are pretty much on the same page as we move ahead.

5) The digests & newsletters have helped give us a steady member readership. A lot of people don't have the time to play, but they enjoy reading what's happening. They're as much a part of the audience we play to as the other players in the game.

6) A lot of rpgs have larger memberships than KTDARPG (we currently have 52 members), but few have as strong a central core of players. From month to month, KTDARPG has 8 wicked creative players who have weathered a lot of storms & pushed this game to some incredible highs. The kicker is that maybe 1-2 of those players had any rpg-experience before joining our game. (We're glad they did!)

All this is very much to do with our forefathers--Game Master Xeno who started it all & the players who were with him in October 2004: Savinius, Prince, Arianna, Mimi, Kava, Rourke & Ransom. Thanks, guys! We hope we continue to do you proud & keep your dream alive.

As we started season 4, we added a handful of new players. They have characters in the game & are adding to the ebb 'n flow of the story. Dynamics are changing, alliances are forming, we're learning who these new characters are & how they'll impact the storyline as we move ahead.

In other words..."Season 4: Rebirth of a City" has the potential to be our best yet. Come on over and see what I mean. --Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Feels like the first time...

For some reason I can't quite fathom, beginning this new season in the game feels like coming in for the very first time. Even though I'm working with established characters from last season, even though it's the same city & many of the same players...something's changed.

I like it.

Maybe it's the new game season & everything that presents--it's Spring. The city's been destroyed even more than it was before. A lot of kids have died. A lot of the rules of survival have changed.

Maybe it's all the new players. At last count, I think we've added 4 new members/players. They're IN THE GAME & MAKING A PRESENCE for themselves. Yea! New group dynamics--always good!

Then again, maybe it's just me. Two weeks gone, a lot of things in my own private world have changed...I guess that's given me a different view of the game & how I play it. This feels very much like a year ago when my first character walked into her first scene. I'm definitely feeling a different creative vibe. Possibilities are everywhere, without restriction. My characters are established, but... The game-world changed, & my characters have to change to meet that challenge.

Have to admit, I've always loved a challenge. --Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Friends

For a variety of reasons, I've been out of the game totally for almost 2 weeks.

I didn't realize how much it all meant to me until it wasn't there from day to day. Rpg-addiction? I don't think so, not when I think about what it was that I missed. It wasn't the cyber-fantasy or unexpected plot twists or the surprising new player popping in or taking time to debate the finer points of what constitutes breaking the rules.

It was the people.

I never thought about it quite this way, but I've spent more than a year making friends that are important to me. As one of them told me, when someone suddenly disappears from the game, it's like losing a family member.

I know, I know, people pooh-pooh cyberspace & warn you about the internet & say watch out for crazies. Actually, we're all crazies in here--crazy about an obscure tv show & the creative messages it brought into our lives. That's where we started. Then we found other things in common, no matter how far apart we live. (I think, at our farthest point, there are about 6,000 miles between the 2 most remote KTDARPG members.)

Then I add, "so what?" Cyberspace doesn't respect time or space. Neither does friendship.

All of this just means I'm glad to be back, guys. I missed you. --Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Growing up

In KTDARPG we deal with life, youth & the challenges of growing up while creating a way of life from scratch. Without the guidance of adults & the civilized institutions we've come to depend on, that's not an easy prospect. Most especially not easy when you have a Game Master who demands at least a semblance of reality from players who are struggling with unfamiliar territory.

Reality? Whose reality? And who decides?

There's no real answer to any of those questions, but I found the following text on another blog. It not only spoke to my heart, it seemed to speak to the characters that we're trying hard to establish in a game that none of us has ever had to play for real. Ah, well...I think you'll see what I mean.

After a while you learn the subtle difference

between holding a hand & chaining a soul.

You learn that "love" doesn't mean "leaning"

and "company" doesn't mean "security."

You begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts,

presents aren't promises. You begin to accept

your defeats with your head held up, eyes open--

with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child.

You learn to build all your roads on today

because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans,

& futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn that even sunshine burns

if you get too much. So you plant your own garden

& decorate your own soul instead of waiting

for someone to bring you flowers.

You learn that you really can endure,

you really are strong, you really do have worth.

And you learn and learn...

with every goodbye, you learn.

Here's to all of us who continue to learn. --Chyna

Photo source: Webshots

The kindness of strangers

One of the traits I've come to treasure most among rpg-ers is their generosity.

In what can actually be a cut-throat game environment, generous players are golden. They help the less-experienced. They take time to see the whole game & what it could be like with even the smallest moves. They'll use their own characters to strengthen others, making the game-world stronger too. They enrich the story and make it more...real.

I'm not going to start a litany of names. You know who you are.

When I was a neophyte, you helped me. When I had played myself into a corner, you rescued me. When I had an idea & no way to make it work, you collaborated with me. And when I took things too seriously, you made me laugh.

Thanks. --Chyna

City in ruins

Fort River in ruins.

What the Virus didn't touch, what the Brotherhood didn't accomplish with their explosions, what the Anti-kids didn't finish with 2 battles...a hurricane & the power plant explosion that unleashed StormRiver has turned parts of our city into a no-go zone. Collapsed streets, buildings gone, lives gone.

Almost 3 months have passed. Our heroes have struggled to survive the devastation & build their lives on the rubble of the last remnants of their old world.

Who is left alive? Are the tribes as devastated as their city? What about food supplies? Shelter? Other resources?

You'll have to stay with us & read on. Or even better: join us & play your part. --Chyna

Photo source: Webshots

Seasons

The Seasons have played a big part in KTDARPG--fall's color & crisp nights, winter's cold & blizzards & unpredictability. Weather has helped define our characters in relation to the landscape...and the city's landscape definitely changed this past year. Our players improvised brilliantly. With their creativity, weather became as much a "character" in the game as anyone else.

Still, winter's dragged on too long. We're all suffering spring fever, ready for a change!

So "The Powers That Be" have announced the end of Season-3 & the end of winter--and that transition is happening now. Using a little-used method we refer to as a time jump to accomplish this, The Powers are taking us from early January to late March & giving the game a boost at the same time. (The only other place a time-jump was used was at the end of Season-1, when we jumped from late October to early December for Season-2.)

This is also a great time for new players to polish their characters & get them into the game. In a lot of ways, it's a fresh start for everyone.

Hope to see you in the game. Join us! --Chyna

Photo source: Webshots

KTDARPG, The Best

For what it's worth, from an rpg-virgin who's not been around this cyberworld too far, the "Keep The Dream Alive" role-playing game is the best -- best storylines, best dialogue & plots, and most creative players that I've been privileged to be associated with.

KTDARPG -- Keep the dream alive, and stay tribal!

-Chyna