Too hot to handle?

Could somebody

explain to me

why Lex never

looked this hot

on "The Tribe"?

When he

obviously did

in real-life?

Damn ...

:)

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe

Anger

Anger.

Usually comes outa the
blue at you, totally unexpected.

It's a rush, but what the
hell do you DO with it?

Left to smoulder, you just get
high blood pressure or have
a heart attack & implode.
The hell with that.

Let it out?

Problem is,
you generally have to clean up the mess.

In-game, anger can take many forms.
Sorry part of that is,
totally unsatisfying.

This too shall pass....

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Moral Majority

All of us bring ourselves to any rpg in one common way: we bring our biases, preconceived notions, viewpoints, prejudices, perceptions, world views.

No help for it. In some very fundamental ways it's who we are. And as in life, we can sit back 'n watch the morality play in progress.

KTDARPG is no different from other rpg's in this. There will always BE a "moral majority," a world-view that becomes the common thread along which our characters rise & fall. For our characters, it becomes the standard against which others measure us, even when that's not how we measure ourselves.

Whether you consider it Midwestern, Middle Eastern, "bible belt" or "banned in Boston," the moral-thermometer in our game is definitely conservative.

If a girl is morally lax to any degree she's at best a bad girl to be tolerated, at worst a harlot to be demonized or used. On the other hand if a bad boy is at least a strong fighter he's pretty much in line to be the hero of our tale (which means consorting with bad girls won't rub off on him, generally speaking). A bad girl who's also a fighter? Ah, then she'll be welcomed if there's a need for her skills but you won't find the "decent folk" doing too much consorting with her otherwise.

The good girls are the ones who mirror currently accepted feminine virtues--they deal with hearth 'n home. Good boys? They're the ones dealing with truth, justice, freedom, all that jazz in very upstanding ways. (Gee, we don't see too many "good boys" in our game. Wonder why? See my blog-entry about anti-heroes...much more fun to go that route.)

I'm speaking in very, very broad generalities here. It's why I'm not giving you any specific examples from our game, though I could. Maybe I can, just with my game-characters alone. Lemme see here... ok, try this:

Good Girl = Jean (tribe leader of the River Rats, concerned for her tribemates health 'n well-being above everything else)

Bad Girl = Jade (who's been a slave, known a lot of men, been engaged to one of the city's kingpins, tried to be charitable & just can't seem to catch a break)

Bad Girl Who Can Fight = Tara (who's only option was to go the way of the warrior 'n die by the sword)

Good Boy = Creed (decent, upstanding, family-type guy who's strong and will fight when or if he has to; even his little interlude with one of Madam's girls didn't tarnish his halo)

Bad Boy Who Would Be Hero = .........hmm......... know what? At least as far as I can remember, I've never tackled that one. I've done the really-really-bad but never the bad-who-will-be-redeemed. I might have to try that sometime.

Anyway, take all this with a grain of salt. It's just me standing back 'n looking at patterns. If fantasy usually contains a few threads of real-world, I'd say we're right on track.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

When I grow up...

Tinker.
Tailor.
Soldier.
Spy.
Doctor.
Lawyer.
Ballerina.
Fireman.
Astronaut.
Scientist.
Librarian.
Teacher.
Model.
Movie Star.
Writer.
Policeman.


In the world of "The Tribe," your options are not exactly limitless on career moves.

Post-apocalypse ... we have more need of the butcher baker candlestick maker than we do for accountants or designers or engineers.

And without adults, who'll teach the young? We already have children killing children & babies havin' babies. Zoot burned the books because he wanted the Old World to go away.

What are we left with?

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Parallels: Growing Up

It had to happen.

From "The Tribe" year-1 to 5, the people we knew developed, changed, grew.

And so it goes. Some of our characters have been inside KTDARPG for almost 3 years. And our game has put more distance between life & the Virus than "The Tribe" ever did. We've gone beyond. All new territory. We're into the years that our tv-inspiration never got to.

The kids are growing up.

Warriors? Ah, those rebellious young teens are now tired, scarred, broody almost-adults. They've seen or participated in war, rape, torture, death ... a bellyful of it. Many would just as soon retire from battle 'n be left alone to find their way forward.

Precocious young girls are now mothers if they're lucky. If not? Maybe something much worse. The smallest 'n most innocent among us are not so innocent anymore. They know how to steal to survive, to find 'n use a weapon if they have to.

Some of our characters have found their way. Whether tribe or trade or family, they're moving forward & building lives.

Some are even more lost than they were when the Virus took the Old World. Lost in their minds, lost in their bodies.

I really, really wish "The Tribe" had survived and taken us a few more years into that Tribe-world future. Would've been nice to have a map to follow as we develop our own game-plan now. What would Bray do? Or Amber? Or Slade?

Anybody out there?

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Parallels: Hunger

A theme that was explored often in "The Tribe," hunger is not an easy thing.

While it may be a safe bet none of our players has experienced much more than missing a few meals, I'm not sure I'd take that bet. According to stuff I've read, hunger is rife throughout the United States even if we don't talk about it or advertise it so much. In too many places today, hunger is epidemic.

Truly having no clue where your next meal's coming from? I don't know what that feels like.

But in game-world as we've created it, hunger is something we all have to deal with on some level. The timing in our game is such that one of our staples -- tinned food leftover from Old World -- is starting to go seriously beyond its use-by date & become useless.

Enterprising players have capitalized on other methods. Hunting, farming, gardening -- or being the go-between Trader getting goods from one place to the other -- these are the unsung heroes of KTDARPG. The kids who know how (or learned fast) to cook, bake, preserve, brew, distill ... ah, they have their in-game fans too!

As our Game Master constantly exhorts us to "keep it real," we try. Sometimes we slip up, but it isn't easy & we do the best we can.

When it comes to the portrayal of hunger, deprivation, starvation ... that truly is hard. And when someone does it right? That's harder still.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Parallels: Triangles

Didn't matter which season, "The Tribe" was great when it came to triangles. Love triangles that is.

From the very beginning, we had Trudy/Bray/Selene -- and that was BEFORE Amber was in the mix.

Yeah, actually those triangles centered around Bray quite a lot. Amber/Bray/Trudy was always a classic. Bray/Amber/Sasha? Oh lord ... Amber/Bray/Ebony was kinda messed up. Salene/Bray/Danni? Amber/Bray/Moon? Not even gonna go there. Bray/Amber/Pride had some possibilities, but the writers had no guts! Still, it explains why a lot of male-players like to pattern their characters on Bray. haha!

But it wasn't just Bray. Consider Lex. He tried with Ryan/Salene/Lex, but that was in his drunk-mode. Then there was Alice/Lex/Taisan, and even Guardian/Taisan/Lex. Siva/Lex/Taisan? Yeah, it got pretty strange.

Even the secondary characters got into the mix. Salene/Pride/May? Jack/Ellie/Luke? Yep, we saw lots of triangles. Teenagers 'n hormones, what're you gonna do?

Now consider KTDARPG. All in all, I'd say our players and their characters are pretty damn courteous. Oh, we've had a few triangles ... I think? Let's see, for sure we had Chyna/Xeno/Brena. Others ... hmm ... well, there was a kinda sorta triangle of Xeno/Chyna/Creed, but that one died from courtesy. Creed didn't fight that one out.

You know, beyond that, I can't think of a thing. That doesn't mean there wasn't INTEREST among characters. Or even characters flirting 'n being playful. But it looks to me like our players decided not to go that route.

Love triangles are another form of competition in our game-world. Guess our players have figured that the competition for food, shelter, other resources or even supremacy takes precedence? Not sure on that one.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Parallels: Loveable Geeks?

Ok, here's a parallel we don't have -- the Loveable Geek. We have no "Jack" in our game, though there have been attempts. And a few of our characters have geek-like qualities for sure!

But Jack? Ah ... Jack could make water safe with his scientific know-how & a few layers of gravel 'n charcoal. Jack could make a wind-machine that would charge up your batteries. Jack could figure out how to print a newspaper without electricity. Jack could rig up security for the mall. Got an intruder? You'd know the minute your heard ghastly wolf-howls echoing up through the elevator shaft!

And Jack was definitely the Geek. Pure 'n unashamed. That geekiness saved his life more than once.

But as I said, many of our characters exhibit their own brand of Jack-ness. Our characters have learned to adapt 'n adopt whatever crosses their path.

Arianna had enough know-how to dig out a stash of solar panels, install them and link them up so the Misfits are the only tribe in town with electricity -- which means home-cooked meals & an electrified fence for personal safety!

Ace & Company (also referred to as The 13) have enough collected knowledge that they even have a solar-batteried car!

Hawk has a background that taught her how to combine local ingredients to make bombs or medicines. Handy to have around, and explains why the River Rats live a bit better than most.

If you look close enough, a lot of characters have at least a touch of Jack-ness or geeky-ness or whatever you call it -- a talent or bit of knowledge from the Old World that's making life in this New World just a bit easier.

Still miss Jack though. He was one of a kind.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Parallels: Missing you

I started thinking about parallels I've noticed between "The Tribe" tv-show & our game. One very obvious parallel is the death of all adults on the planet and how that affected the children left behind.

This is something that I think every player feels & is consciously aware of, especially when they first join the game. For just about every character introduced into game play, there is some reference to "before," to lost family or lost parents or lost lives. It may be brief. It may be just a throwaway line ... but it's usually there.

What's been left behind for our survivors is childhood. Whether you were 5 or 15 when the Virus hit, suddenly you weren't a child any longer. No Parents. That's huge. No parents telling you what to do or who to do it with ... or providing you with food and clothes and a home. No, in game-world as in Tribe-world, the kids are suddenly instant adults with all the problems & challenges that brings.

Well, except for one twist. The World As You Knew It is totally gone. No tv, no radio. No grocery stores, no burger joints or taco stands. No doctors, no lawyers, no traffic cops. No distilleries or processing plants or sewage treatment facilities. You are, indeed, back in the Stone Age.

From securing the basics (food, shelter, water) to finding ways for you & your friends to be safe -- it's all in your own hands. You can't call dad for advice. You can't run home to mom when the world gets too crazy. Sorry, guys. You just have to deal ...

And yeah, that's gonna make you think of "before." Silly fights with your parents. Sibling rivalries that didn't really mean anything. Sunday dinners and watching football on tv. Going to the movies or borrowing dad's car. You're gonna remember, and it will affect your character in this game in some way, shape or form. How can it not?

Because your family is gone. Whether you loved them or hated them, they were your mom & dad. You'll never get another, but eventually you'll BE a parent. Then who will your role models be?

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Brooding

Working on the KTDARPG season-four digest has put me in a broody frame of mind. Remembering where we've been, how much it took us to get this far. There've been some great scenes by a lot of players, some great writing, some gripping moments.

Characters have lived, loved, fought 'n died.

Characters have faded into 'n out of our lives.

We've fought battles, fought each other, fought to bring our personal visions--and our personal characters--to live in the game.

Why?

That's a rhetorical question. I know why. I feel the same reason. Well ... reasons. We adventure through our characters. Or we escape. Or we create. Or we dream. 100 different reasons, 100 different motivations, all for the same end result -- this little rpg that was created almost 3 years ago.

You done good when you set it up, the First Family. If I remember right, that was: Xeno, Ari, Prince, Savinius, Kava, Mimi. That leaves Xeno, Ari & Prince as the Original-3. The rest aren't with us right now. I think they'd enjoy seeing what the game they started has become.

We've come a long way, just from last season. Getting past the hurricane and the winter, finding new ways to live and interact, adding a lot of new players to the roster. (We're glad you're here.) And the story's come a long way too.

New ideas, new directions, new dramas, new possibilities.

I'm looking forward to nightfall and the coming storm.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

The Hard Stuff

In our "Keep the Dream Alive" rpg we've had lots of wars, lots of deaths, even lots of babies. Most of us have survived fire & flood, hurricane & blizzard, fall 'n winter 'n spring.

But for our writers of all ages and all backgrounds ... it seems like the hardest thing to find, develop and survive is ... love.

And I guess that makes our game not so different than the show that inspired us to start this up in the first place.

Love, affection, emotion -- that was always the hard stuff in "The Tribe." Amber & Bray didn't happen overnight. When Lex first asked Taisan to marry him, she turned him down. Selene 'n Ryan? Pride & May? Even Zoot 'n Ebony. Nothing was ever easy. And the unrequited love was everywhere.

Ah, but "The Tribe" writers were adults, interpreting the world for teenagers from their adult perspectives. In our game, there are no Powers That Be guiding the game & writing scripts. We're on our own here. And love, affection, emotion? Still the hard stuff.

We've had a few good attempts over the years. Chyna & Xeno (who both died), Arianna & Judge (Judge was killed), Arianna & Prince (unrequited love), Bishop & Brena (wounded souls), Jade & Tom-F (he died).

In today's game, things are stirring. It looks like Arianna & Scarecrow might have a chance. Hawk & Creed are solid. Krystal & Jason are going through a rough patch. Marionette & Villa are two of a kind who'll either wind up in love or killing each other. Ace & Eris, but Eris needs more confidence in herself.

In the midst of hardship and struggle for survival, people tend to cling together. Whether as a tribe, in a bar, at a market or just groups on the street finding common ground ... it's human nature. But protraying emotion, affection, love in our game has never been an easy thing to do.

Cheers to those brave enough to take a stab at it.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Girls' Point of View -- REVISED

After my original point-of-view post, I got an earful from my male friends, believe me! And, ok, I've got a fresh perspective on things. So let me take another stab at this subject.

I stand by my original premise: KTDARPG is very democratic. No glass ceiling here. Women in positions of power 'n influence? Definitely.

But I tripped up when I went looking for reasons. Here's what my original blog-entry said: The reason we've had all these opportunities is that the guys in general are hanging back. They kinda like being taken care of, protected, directed, not having to be Out There on a daily basis.

Ok, I'll admit it. On second thought -- and with some helpful guidance 'n prodding (and debating and ass-kicking) from my male game-comrades -- my thought processes were in error. I went back and looked at bits 'n pieces of the game with fresh eyes.

What I found was that, no, the guys aren't hanging back. They just don't feel compelled to push themselves front-and-center at every opportunity. But that doesn't make them any less integral to the game, the developing plots, the action, the character development. And we have had males in some pretty pivotal roles in the almost 3 years the game's been running.

I can't imagine KTDARPG or any of our stories without Prince, Xeno, Rourke, Marionette, Sid, Zero, Scarecrow, Weasel, Ace, Tom-F, Tresvant or even (the female-controlled) Bishop, Creed, Fel ... and those are just the ones off the top of my head.

So ... apologies, Gentlemen. Chyna erred. Hopefully, I've given you your proper deference here and credit for all you do to make our game-world come alive -- with fun, surprises and a depth of being we wouldn't have without you.

-Chyna

Cold

These days I'm guessin' our characters are reflecting ourselves in a lot of ways, in KTDARPG.

Some characters are outgoing, expressive, friendly, helpful. They talk to you, laugh with you, cry with you. Through the players' work, you get to glimpse inside the mind of these guys 'n girls, see what they think, what makes them tick.

Other characters are ... well, might as well put it bluntly -- dickheads. Cold fish. Arrogant. Snide. Maybe just plain wary and unfriendly. I guess some people have a right to be that way. "Once burned, twice shy" and all that. It just makes it hard to play with, when characters shut down and take all they can from you but give nothing in return. Yeah, dickheads.

It could be winter burnout, I guess. We're all gettin' tired of it, being cold & cooped up & bored. That could be translating itself into our writing 'n how we move our characters around the game board. If that is indeed the case? Then HURRY SPRING!

It's one thing to be cold on the outside--grab a blanket or somebody to cuddle with, and this too shall pass.

But cold on the inside? Much, much scarier.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

The Art of Conversation

In our instant-gratification world of text-messaging, instant-messaging, email, palm pilots & blackberries, it's nice to just take time & talk, y'know?

While the old folks say conversation is a lost art -- sabotaged by video games and computers and tv and other pieces of our electronic lives -- I'm gonna disagree strongly with that sentiment. We know how to talk, know how to listen. We may not always display our expertise in these areas, but that doesn't mean we don't know how.

The art of conversation is doing well and being practiced skillfully in our game.

Actually that's what makes the text-format of our game satisfying at times. With post-n-response, our conversations can last for days. You have time to think ... about what you'll say, how you'll say it, about what the person you're talking to is saying and, maybe, what he or she really means.

A while back, our Game Master added some words to the game-site introduction. He added the phrase "for the reality of the game and the beauty of the writing." And that means something.

See, I'm the person who's been digesting our game seasons, summarizing events as a map through the game. It's not easy, boiling down thousands of posts into a few pages of text. One of the reasons it's so hard is "the beauty of the writing." Our players are beautiful writers. Their manipulation of language is strongly affected by background, age, circumstance ... a hundred small things that come together into beautiful communications. Especially the game's dialogue.

If for no other reason, I recommend KTDARPG to my friends even if all they do is read the posts. Because the story can be downright dramatic and fascinating at times -- active, intriguing, interesting, nail-biting. But the conversations? That's how you learn about our characters. What they say, how they express themselves.

Come and see.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Girls' Point of View

Ok, I'm gonna take a stab at this. KTDARPG, from the female perspective.

Since the beginning, this game-world has been surprisingly democratic. Girls leading tribes, girls solving problems, girls fighting & winning, girls elected as city officials, girls hunting as well as preparing the meals, girls as heads of businesses ... yep, surprisingly democratic.

But I have a theory. The reason we've had all these opportunities is that the guys in general are hanging back. They kinda like being taken care of, protected, directed, not having to be Out There on a daily basis. Not too bad to get up in the morning & smell the coffee, breakfast waiting on them, smile at the girl going out the door to stock up on supplies at the market. Not bad at all to sit back & let the girl run the business, take care of the problems & worry about tomorrow.

Ok, maybe it's not EXACTLY like that, but c'mon guys -- you gotta admit that so far KTDARPG has been pretty much a female's domain. Name me 1 male tribe leader. Currently the only "businesses" in town are run by females (not counting the NPC-guys running the booths for the once-a-week market). Tom-F's empire went with the hurricane. Drake's Bar was trashed by Dread and his men. That pretty much leave's Val's bar as the only enterprise going. (Don't know if Madam actually has a PLACE for her girls ... we haven't seen that one yet.)

Yeah, we've seen glimpses of a new kid in town, name of Blasko, but not enough quite yet to know where he's taking us. And Ace is apparently in charge of his group of people, but they mostly seem to be working for Val.

What's the what, guys? Any of you out there wanna have a go at giving us the Masculine Point of View? Open invitation ...

-Chyna

Redemption

Whatever you call it -- redemption, forgiveness, pardon, absolution, mercy, quits -- this particular brand of angst is prevalent throughout our game.

The nature of the world we've created is such that no one is truly innocent. Even the most innocent among us usually has something dark that he or she is hiding. A secret weakness, a secret crime, a secret shame ... even a secret talent that maybe your parents wouldn't be so proud of if all the adults hadn't died and left us.

All of the possibilities are there. Stealing can be a more horrible crime than murder, with resources so damn scarce. Sometimes death is just a mercy in itself. Ratting somebody out is a great temptation -- you know what they've done, or you know what they've got to hide.

Our gameworld is full of bullies and heroes, but it's not so easy to tell the 2 apart. Bully and Hero both have their cadres; both have their reasons, their power, and usually their visions for what the future should be. Strangely enough, the Bully and the Hero -- at least in our world -- both seem to be motivated by some of the same deep-seated needs.

The Bully thinks s/he knows best & is actually trying to make the world better ... and maybe make up for some of the chaos s/he created along the way for those who follow.

The Hero -- at least the heroes we've experienced in our game so far -- is not the classic white hat. Our heroes tend to have dark pasts that they're making up for. Some heroes go so far as to sacrifice their lives in the pursuit of absolution. It's happened before; maybe will again. Of course there's always the Reluctant Hero, too. That's the guy or girl thrust into a position where being a hero is the only choice given. You sink or swim. After all, a lot of people are counting on you! I can think of quite a few of our characters who've been through that.

A lot of times, some of those scenarios get awfully close to reality. The descriptions, the dialogue, the motions and emotions ... are a bit more real than we're sometimes used to. But maybe that's what the game is for? Working things out, getting reactions, getting on to what comes next?

Guess our players have a lot more in common than they sometimes think ...

-Chyna