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"