Anti-hero, Part-1

All the recent talk about heroes 'n villains got me to thinking. You can keep your knights-in-shining-armor and your black-hearted bad guys. I'll take the anti-hero every time.

According to most definitions I can find, anti-hero is described as a fictional character whose actions and motives are villainous or questionable. To quote: "Anti-heroes can be awkward, anti-social, alienated, cruel, obnoxious, passive, pitiful, obtuse or just ordinary. An anti-hero lives by his/her own moral compass, striving to define their own values as opposed to those recognized by the society in which they live."

In other words? Just flawed human beings (well, mostly human) tryin' to figure it all out. That's about it. Bad boys 'n girls ... but oh, it's so much more interesting to watch!

Sure Superman will save the day. King Arthur will be chivalrous. John Wayne would bring the cavalry just in the nick of time. Ho-hum. Give me Mad Max any day. Or Spike, who'll get mad and mean and somehow still figure out how to be a hero when the time comes. Capt. Jack Sparrow will be all about self-preservation, fame ' fortune...and he'll still wind up doing the "right thing" when all's said 'n done.

Wolverine. Blade. "V". Spawn. Beatrix Kiddo. Riddick. Xena. The list goes on and on. And so does the definition of anti-hero.

"Qualities normally belonging to villains--amorality, greed, violent tendencies, etc.--are tempered with human traits like confusion and self-hatred. But redemption eventually comes, and it comes through love or friendship or duty or by some other interesting avenue. Noble motives are ultimately pursued by bending or breaking the law in the belief that the ends truly do justify the means."

Ok, ok, not to mention the fact that it's the anti-hero who's usually exceptionally hot.

Anyway, the anti-hero type of character was very popular in "The Tribe." So Part-2 of this blog-subject will move in that direction...and also to our game, where the anti-hero most certainly rules.

-Chyna

Photo sources: copyrights by www. visimag. com; www. moviehole. net; www. galeon. com; shekinah, elysiumgates. com

Winter Reflections

Winter finally found us here in Ohio. From 60-degree days in December and into the new year, we're now surrounded by snow, moonlight, wind and temperatures in the teens. Typical winter...finally.

Winter makes me moody, so I'm rambling here ... you might wanna pass on this blog entry 'n catch me next time? Anyway...

I was re-reading the following words tonight. They've been floating around the internet awhile. I found 'em on a friend's blog about a year ago and forgot about them until I ran across them tonight. They kind of fit my mood, so..."winter reflections."

After a while, you learn the subtle difference

between holding a hand and chaining a soul.

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

that "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 high, eyes open...with the grace

of an adult and not the grief of a child.

After a while you learn, even sunshine burns

if you get too much. So you plant

your own garden, you decorate

your own soul and stop waiting for

someone to bring you flowers.

You learn that you really can endure...

you really are strong...you really do have worth.

You learn, and learn...

with every goodbye, you learn.

-Chyna

Photo source: www. carloterlizzi. com

This Week in KTDARPG

Madness is buzzing all around Fort River. And not just your normal crazies, either. Let's see if I can give you the broad strokes of what's happening in the "Keep The Dream Alive" rpg as we head into the weekend...

> The Misfits and their friends are on the hunt! One tribemate has been rescued but another is still missing. Is he captured? Enslaved? Dead? So many have died...and this is just a young one. But you gotta give Tresvant points for nerve! He don't give up so easy.

> The River Rats are all waiting impatiently. Waiting to see what happens to Jason now that he's safely home and in Krystal's loving care. Waiting for their Tribe Leader to get back and take charge. Waiting to see what happens now that Hawk is back. Waiting...

> With their battles done--for now--Prince & his friends have found a stray in the woods along with enough food for a little while. But there's also weirdness going on along the fringes of the city, strange savage deaths and the echo of mad laughter. Enough to give you chills and make you run for cover.

> At Val's bar the drama's pretty much all in your head right now. Ace has traded for a helluva lot of explosive materials. Much to Jade's surprise, she now has Saber looking for word of Tom-F and Bishop--and Valentine gave her a job and a place to stay. Sid's making plans to become a permanent part of the Fort River scene. And Villa's back and in more trouble than usual, fighting off the deadly effects of the scratch from Cricket's venom-nails.

Add to all this the flow of rumors, gossip, whispers...the calm before the storm may be turning.

Let's see what happens next!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

The Right Way

Seated off to the side watching the room sits Cricket. Her green-faced makeup has a soft glittery shimmer to it. Her hair is tressed up with beautiful hair sticks that also could easily pass for throwing darts. She looks deadly and beautiful at the same time. Cricket's been watching the far corner game with interest ever since the female joined the game. Leaning on a high bar table, tapping her right fingernails in a porcelain bowl full of dark blue liquid, coating just her sharp metal-claw-tipped nails with snake venom...

This, my friends, is one of KTDARPG's newest nefarious figures--a female villain--and this was her entry into the game. It's hard to ask for anything better.

As much as people are focusing on creating the new "bad guys" to stir up the play, one player set her sights smaller and sneaked this one in. Brava! Cricket is a small character but she made an immediate statement. She's a member of a tribe so she isn't "all powerful." Her weapons are a bit out of the ordinary from what we've seen lately, right down to her venom-tipped nails. The girl's got attitude, can size up an opponent, and knows where her priorities are.

Cricket enjoys every second of the show in the back
corner. The female at the table with the men should
be a Grimm. Ah, but Dealer is in no mood for another
fight in the gamble house, after the early morning
show with the two young kids and the dog.

She's also ready to take action when it's time. And she won't necessarily come at you head-on or even play fair. That's the fun part!

Cricket: *sizes up the situation* Sable! Put Tom
back in his cage now! *stands relaxed but moves
her pretty fingers in a catlike way, shooing Sable
to hurry up, then steps closer looking at Villa*
(A typical cat brawler.) So, what's your name?

*Cricket steps even closer to Villa and coyly acts like
she loses her balance stepping on the broken door,
falling towards Villa. Using quick reflexes, she
scratches Villa's arm with her sharp claws, drawing
blood. Then Cricket jumps back, feeling the breeze
of Villa throwing a punch. But she was quicker and
smiles at Villa, knowing she got the first blow.* (Cat
brawlers--that always gets their ego when they
don't get the first punch in a fight.)

As I said--attitude & action. Kudos to the player who decided on this little experiment! (Sable, you done good girl!) The writing is simple so that the character comes through loud 'n clear.

We hope Cricket isn't just a throwaway, that we'll see more of her.

And to the guys 'n girls working & planning for future bad guys, think also about HOW you'll bring them into the game. Sometimes there's no need for a grand announcement or a gripping "statement" to get the attention of the rest of us. Sometimes the narrow way is better, as Cricket shows us.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright www. bartcop. com

Creating the Big Bad

Seems like everybody's taking an interest in who the next major bad guy will be to try 'n dominate our game. We've lived through the major ones--the Brotherhood (which was Brena, Lion-F & Xeno) and the Anti-Kids (which was Fel & the last living Adult). We've survived a few minor ones like Nemesis, Dread, Rah & even Daddy Bacon. And we may have some candidates already in the game for that role (but I'm not gonna name any names here!).

We get great inspiration from "The Tribe" as well. There weren't all that many in 5 tv seasons, but they were memorable: Zoot. Ebony. The Guardian. Ram. Java. Mega. And even Computer-Zoot, whose goal was to end mankind.

So who will the new villains be? And will they be bad...or will they be evil?

Big difference there. Mostly what we see are Bad Guys--the kind who want to dominate other people, control every aspect of their world, and don't mind getting their hands dirty doing it. Evil is...something else. Evil is more than domination, more than control. Not sure I can describe it right, so maybe I shouldn't try. So far in-game, I know of only one evil character that emerged (and rather quickly died). That would be Nemesis...and we'll just leave that discussion for later. He still gives me the creeps...

But we know we NEED the Bad Guy. If there isn't conflict life is just, well, boring? We always need someone that we can band together against. Someone who galvanizes the rest of the group into coordinated action. And nothing does that better than the Big Bad. In "The Tribe" there were two who earned that title: Zoot and Ram.

So now we get to wait and see what happens next. People are working hard, plotting, creating, planning...so I guess we'll see!

Just one final note: Seems like life's kinda cheap these days in Fort River. It's kinda like the American "Old West," where disagreements were settled at the point of a gun or the end of a rope. Our game-world doesn't have guns, but there are blades flying everywhere, for sure.

This could get very interesting before it's over.

-Chyna

Photo source: Copyright Cloud-9, "The Tribe"

Calm before the storm

You can feel it. You can almost reach out your hand and touch it. Everything seems calm, just business as usual...just living. But there's a static in the air. Something electric and not-quite-there-yet. Like if you wait just another few seconds, you'll see the Lightning & feel the Thunder.

That's what it feels like in Fort River right now.

We're in-between...the calm before the storm. The Misfits are searching for 2 missing tribe mates. The River Rats are waiting on a loved one to come home. Things at the gambling den are pretty much same old same. Rah is dead. Seth & his warriors are gone. At "Home," Val's just worried about where her next customers will come from.

Several wild cards have shown up suddenly in-game. Maybe that's the source of the static? Hawk is back with the River Rats. Jade has come back to Fort River. And Sid is back in town.

One spark...that's all it'll take. To ignite all those "flammables" Ace just bought from Saber...or to set a torch to Fort River and light up the night.

Stay tuned.

-Chyna

Fresh Year, Fresh Ideas

This new year in the game is turning into a flurry of activity. (Ok, had to use the flurry-word since we're NOT getting our usual winter snow around here.)

In-game our characters are all over the place, trying new things or just learning about the new guys in town. Definitely goin' places we've not been before, even with 4 game seasons under our belts.

Out-of-game? Ah, even our players are going places 'n finding new enthusiasm for this game of ours. (Hey, something must be working--we've got 66 members these days 'n more players active than ever!)

>> Blogs are flourishing.

>> One player is working on a new project--a page on myspace.com dedicated to the game & letting others know about it.

>> There's a wiki site being built as a place for players to log-in their characters & keep them up to date.

>> Instant message is staying hot--that's where a lot of us hang out to plot & talk about the game & meet new friends.

>> One player is even resurrecting the game newsletter & promises to put that out on a monthly schedule...with help from other players contributing articles 'n interviews 'n columns 'n other tidbits for publication.

Just makes it that much more fun. Who knows what somebody will come up with next? Haha!

Thanks to everybody who's lending a hand to make this game of ours even better. We couldn't do it without ya!

-Chyna

Cult of Personality

Personality played a huge part in how we responded to characters in the tv show "The Tribe." It's so much easier with televised media to develop characters so deeply that a "cult of personality" can apply. Zoot, the Guardian, Bray, Lex, Amber, Ebony...on a tv-screen, a character can truly become larger than life. You see them, hear their words, watch how they impact the world around them.

Sight & hearing...2 powerful senses we don't have direct access to in a text-based roleplaying game. Yet I've watched the growth of characters in the game to pretty much the same degree. That's because some of the best players among us know exactly how to manipulate the environment of imagination that players/readers bring with them into the game.

Two examples that come to mind are Hawk & Marionette. Not sure if I can convey the "cult of personality" surrounding these distinct characters, but I'll try.

I think I would recognize Hawk on the street if I saw her. It's not just that she lost an eye or the clothes she wears or the formal way she speaks. Hawk has a presence you can almost feel in any scene where she's present. She sees the world very much in black-and-white terms -- something's either right or it's wrong -- and there's an energy when she's present. It feels like she's earned the right to make those judgments. We've watched this warrior child grow up for almost 2 years. We've watched her battles, her losses, her challenges. Now in-game she's headed back into the city with a strong mate & an adopted baby...and it just feels like something's bound to happen. Something important. Something significant. Why? Because she's....Hawk.

Marionette is another case entirely. He's only been in Fort River a few weeks, and he's become a compelling enigma. This is a man who wraps himself in chains and walks a knife-edge, balanced precariously between Patience & Rage. You're never quite sure which aspect will take him at any given moment. His bloody past is revealed. With every scene we see how he's trying to live down such a reputation and, maybe, make amends for something that can't really be atoned for. He has good friends, strong friends...and perhaps a mission that even he doesn't fully understand. The opposite of Hawk in many ways, Marionette's world is filled with shades of gray. He judges himself harshly but doesn't presume to judge other people. Whether it's the covering white facepaint we see, or the clear face of a green-eyed man with a cross on his forehead, there's...something. And it's probably the not-quite-knowing that's most magnetic of all.

Like I said, it's hard to explain. So many of the characters in KTDARPG are complex and multi-layered. These are just 2 examples. You should come in and meet the rest of the gang.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Season 5: New Life

It's interesting... the newest season of the game is called "New Life," mostly because it started off with a rash of girls having babies all of a sudden.

You have to understand--for the past 4 game seasons, i think there was maybe ONE baby born, a Christmas baby for Kava. But this season started and it seemed like EVERYBODY was having kids all of a sudden. So the title made sense in that regard.

Now though, it really hits home how many characters have been killed off. And I'm talking major characters, not just NPC's (disposables). It started with Tara and then West (at the end of Season-4). More recently it was Gaz and Brena and Worm and Ishmael. And something tells me we're not quite done with the death-n-dying yet.

But as I watch what happens, I think that "new life" title has another meaning as well. Prince is making a new life for himself as the Keeper of Law & Order for Fort River, with some significant backup forces. Hawk and Creed have a new aspect to their lives--a foundling baby boy who would've died if they hadn't found him--and they're heading back to see what life holds for them in the city. Arianna will discover what life is like as a new mother and with an exciting new man who loves her. Valentine is trying to make a new life for herself in her new bar. Jade's life out of slavery will definitely be new. i guess we'll see that happen. Marionette and Villa? If they don't wind up killing each other, their lives will be very new & interesting. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, as they say. Eris, Sable, Zero, Tresvant, Saber, Johnny Ohm, Krista, Oliver, Eric 'n Edward, Ace, Jack, Shikra, Jean...we have a LOT of other characters--some new to Fort River who we're still getting to know.

I just found it interesting. "New Life" has certainly taken on meanings I'm not sure we really thought about in the beginning of this season. I'm kinda looking forward to seeing what's ahead. Come on & join us for the ride!

-Chyna

Welcome to the new year

Welcome to 2007!

One of our players (thanks, Hawk!) took a look back at the past year in our "Keep the Dream Alive" role-playing game & came up with some interesting stats. Thought I'd include them here...

Hawk: Over the last 12 months we've had the record high of 1,045 posts in a single month (November). Our lowest month (July) was still high at 353 posts. The grand total number of the posts for the year 2006 was 7,072!

Hawk: We also had ... 14 new additions to the "Book of the Dead," 24 new game members, our 1st Dragon*Con KTDARPG gathering--Amazing year! May our next be better still!

Agreed!

Enjoy the game, guys!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"