Sable's Farewell

The Tribe RPG: Sable's Farewell

I just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to the group for the support and cheering me up.

This game has been a lot of fun for me. I have loved every moment of playing/writing stories with you guys. I want to give a special thanks to Chyna for her help!

If there is a way, I will find it to stay in the game. So I hope to see you guys in few months or sooner.

I give full npc rights to Chyna and Prince on the Grimm stuff. Hawk, you have full npc rights to the Frog character, that lives with Big Sis.

Sable and Tom...well, we took off in the rain. We will find our way back home to Fort River, to the Misfits, to the bar called "HOME", to our Tribal friends and family some day.

KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE!

-SABLE AND TOM [BARK, BARK, BARK!!!]

About last night

Ok, guys, I don't do a lot of "warm 'n fuzzies" in the blog. They tend to get a bit yucky so I avoid 'em as I can.

But this time, no getting around 'em so you'll have to bear with me.

Something happened last night in the game that smacked me in the face with why I'm there. And here. It isn't the wicked creative talents or the competition or the waiting to see who gets who. Well, ok, yeah it is--but it's more. A whole lot more.

Last night we learned that one of our players, a young girl, was having some tough times. She let me know why she'd been outa the game for a few weeks, that it would be a challenge for her to make it back at all. I let the other moderators know what was up.

From there...snowball effect. I witnessed such a rush of concern & support & encouragement for our player. She was a friend. The others were glad to know what was what. Each one of 'em asked what they could do, how they could help. I think our player was a little overwhelmed by the outpouring...but I also think she was pleased and, yeah, warm 'n fuzzy from all the cyber-support.

It's a great group of people that I play with. Each of them is unique & found KTDARPG for their own reasons. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I know them. Glad to be a part of them.

Maria, Prince, Robert, Jason, James, Hawk, Arianna, Krystal, Kitty ... you guys rock. It's nights like last night that remind me why I'm here.

And to Sable, don't be too overwhelmed by us. Ok? But when a friend is in need, what's a person to do? Whatever you need, just give us a shout. We'll be around.

-Chyna
Co-Owner, KTDARPG

Seasons

"The Tribe" didn't make much of weather from season to season. Even though there were a lot--a lot!--of outside scenes, maybe it was just the challenge of filming a tv show. Or maybe the down-under location. Or maybe the directors and producor just didn't want to have "weather" play a role in the storylines.

Whatever the reasons ... well, our game has always gone way beyond the show with regard to how our exterior world affects us.

Seasons. We're very familiar with them. When the game started it was autumn. That made a difference. Colder weather coming means a need for warmer clothes, warmer shelters, and can make finding food a little more challenging too. Even down to scenes where a character bathes in the river--everything was directed by our environment.

Winter has had the greatest effect so far. Mostly because our game's most heated battles took place in ice 'n snow. And winter took its toll on our characters too. A lot of deaths occurred in winter. (Ok, Chyna admits I lobbied for winter strongly, especially the snow part. I remember badgering our Game Master mercilessly for our game to have snow. Yeah, well ... glad that's done with!)

We've now survived into spring, glad to have winter behind us. Yeah, we've got spring storms coming our way but we've also got fresh-grown food at last. With winter over, people are moving around again and Fort River is filling up with traders and travelers.

Welcome to spring in KTDARPG.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Lights! Camera! Action!

Whoever first started preaching "write what you know" was obviously not talking about creative writing. For that, I say: Write what you WANT to know.

In a game like KTDARPG, the premise alone precludes writing about very much somebody would actually know personally.

For one thing, our world still has adults in it (and some of the players qualify as "adults"). For another, we live daily with all the benefits technology can supply. Ergo, imagining trumps experiencing.

So when in doubt? Do what a scriptwriter does -- SEE the scene you're writing about in your mind, then just describe it. Describe ALL of it. Form the scene so colorfully & fully in your mind that you might be seeing it on a tv-screen. See your character, his movements, and hear his words.

If you can see & feel what your character is into, then it's guaranteed that any reader will see & feel the same.

Now understand, that means if your character is boring--intentional or otherwise--well, boring is what we'll get.

But being visual really works. Just like tv or the movies, it all comes down to what you "see." And you want game readers & players to "see" your character the way you do. So that means the more descriptive you get, the better.

Chyna will make one HUGE request at this point. Please, please, please DO NOT be so sketchy with your character that you give off no visuals at all. We have one player who does this as a matter of habit. The player says, "I want to leave what (s/he) looks like to your imagination."

No, no, no! You can't interact with a character who's basically a ghost, with no physical detail which means no physical presence in the game! Give us something to work with!

Ok, ok, enough of my rant for today.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Little Ones in the mix

We constantly underestimate them, the under-13 crowd. Maybe in real-life, certainly in the game. These pre-teens bring something different to the game, something a lot of people overlook. It was kinda the same with "The Tribe" on tv.

These kids are the confused, the bold, the trick-players, the risk-takers without even understanding the risks they take. Sometimes they're also the dreamers & the schemers.

From tv? Ah, the word "angst" had to have been created for Cloe & Patsy once hormones started kicking in. Poor Dal, being the object of their experimental attentions. KC was the schemer--always a plan, always a deal--from sunglasses to rat races to pure 'n simple theft. Young Dal was the dreamer, whether it was the dream of a farm or that older woman who never gave him a 2nd glance.

It's fun to watch the little ones in KTDARPG. From the youngest Misfits to the smallest River Rats to the quasi-renegade Sable & her dog, you get a different world view from these kids. Whether the subject is storms or safety, finding food or finding friends you can trust, to the often incomprehensible behavior of their older companions ... yeah, it's a world view we need to keep us real.

So bravo! to the players taking on the challenge of younger characters in our very hard-knock game world. Keep it real -- and keep us on track!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Just me

From time to time, "Chyna's Closet" holds more than just bits 'n pieces from KTDARPG. Some bits are more personal. That's when I'll give a Disclaimer. Hey, my blog...i'm entitled to indulge now 'n then, yeah? If you're reading because of your interest in the game, you might wanna pass this one.

Cold light of day

Negotiator. Peacemaker. Good Daughter. The one you generally count on to give a damn. Yeah, that's me. No doubts.

Until I took a step back. Somebody stashed the doubts behind the door. I kinda tripped over 'em. Tripped 'n fell back into that big empty I've kept around for years.

So...this is your life. How does it feel? Pretty shitty but familiar. I let it happen. Encouraged it. Was proud of it. Life goes on. (god i hate that phrase)

Turn up the music. "Don't Stop Believin' " - "Separate Ways" - "Faithfully" - "Open Arms" - "Who's Cryin' Now"

Epiphany-girl

3 days flat on my back with the flu. No work. No phone. No comp. No distractions. No excuses. Just staring into the empty, seeing what I let it do to me.

Existing as half of a not-meant-to-be Whole. Didn't know I was such a masochist, embracing pain just to feel something. Winding up totally numb. Using distance as camo & shield. Proud of that too.

But. I. Didn't. Die.

Letting go

Hamster + cage + treadmill = stupid shit. Yeah, I'm such a grown-up.

Time to take out the trash. [cobwebs...dusty smiles...time come 'n gone 'n can't come back again. There is no wheel of time. Time is linear. The past is ashes. I'm so damn tired of tasting them.]

These past few months I've felt threads pulling. Lovers & friends who care enough to ask questions, to listen. Friends who care, who worry. They matter to me. They make me feel like I matter. I want that. Guess I had to want it more than I wanted pain.

I changed the music.
I can change the rest.

(And to my Friend whose question started me down this road, thank you. I thought it was buried. Turns out I was the one who was buried. Not good.)

It's in the eyes

I miss it. I really really miss one major aspect about "The Tribe" that we can't duplicate in the game, no matter how hard we try or how good we get.

Eye contact.

Eyes truly are the windows of the soul; that "soul" is something I miss. Besides, actually being able to look our fellow characters in the eyes would be a tremendous advantage.

Our Creator exhorts us to "play it real," but how's that possible when we can never quite get the visuals right? Oh lots of posts include details about characters & what they're looking at, how their eyes appear, the expression their eyes convey. We're definitely doing the best we can.

Ah, but think about it. How much was conveyed when Amber & Bray looked into each other's eyes? How much could you tell about the Guardian's plans just by the glitter in his eyes? Would Ram have seemed quite so intimidating--or quite so crazy--without the mad gleam that often peaked out from behind his dark eyes? Lots 'n lots of examples for this one.

Now you know why I so often use photos from "The Tribe" in this blog & when I consider aspects of our game. We connect visually. With strong graphics we have a better grasp of our gameworld, our characters, and the game action itself. The sharper our writing, the more we touch.

Don't let 'em kid you into thinking a voice, a smile or a physical presence would be the strongest. A glance will do it. You can read volumes if you can see into someone's eyes.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Too close to the bone

I've heard more than a few people say it. Usually after they've been active in the game a few months. Usually about their first or primary character.

"I'm surprised how much of 'me' is coming out in my character."

Some people want it exactly like that. Their character is therapeutic; they're working out some things in a safe environment where they can manipulate the circumstances and try new things.

Some people freak. Yep. Totally freak. They find themselves getting uncomfortably involved in their character, projecting so much of themselves it's hard to reel it back in. I've seen people fight that feeling in two ways: either pulling their character back & retooling, then coming back into the game with a different approach; or going to the extreme of killing off the character in-game & trying to re-group with a new persona. Sometimes it works.

Is it the nature of the game, the fact that this is online & kinda sorta anonymous that makes us take chances? Or maybe the novelty of the rp-experience, especially for a novice who is experimenting for the first time?

Not sure. Whatever it is, it's a shared thing. Playing your character too close the bone ... you're left to decide if that's actually a good thing or not.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Alone

We've talked about the dangers of NPC-land, but what about characters who are basically alone? Y'know what, it didn't work too well in "The Tribe" on tv and it doesn't seem to work too well in KTDARPG either ... no matter who you are or how hard you try.

The Great Loner from the show was of course Bray. For most of Season-1 he was the mystery man. Shows up at the mall with a very pregnant Trudy, kinda dumps her on the MallRats and spends his time "somewhere" doing "something". He shows back up now 'n then with supplies or information ... but basically he's going it alone.

Nope. Not gonna work. You can see that coming a mile away.

Enter Amber, and things start to happen.

Even Amber tried to go it solo. Season-2 and she's pretty much dead to the rest of the tribe. But that being alone doesn't last long. Enter Pride. And the Gaians. And suddenly she's being elected Supreme Being or something. (guess you had to be there)

It's happened since Day-1 of KTDARPG too. Xeno the great loner gets zapped with a tribe, a sister and a lover before game season one is halfway over. There's Arianna--alone one day and then tribe/Judge/baby & by the time game season four rolls around she's got Scarecrow too. Take Hawk, the ultimate loner. Finds a friend who's close as a sister, finds a tribe, finds a lover 'n mate-for-life, finds a baby--kinda funny but people keep falling outa the woodwork right into her lap!

Loner status may be cool but it's not practical. In the game, you have to associate with people. Associations lead to ties. And ties can get interesting.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

NPC-land -or- In the land of Oz

NPC-land.
A solitary place
but one of power
because a single player
controls his universe.

It's Oz & you're the Wizard.
Not a place we recommend.

In "The Tribe" when a character would go into tv's version of NPC-land, you basically didn't see them anymore. Jack fled the mall because of Ellie & Luke. Salene went in search of Ryan. Amber went to try & recruit allies against the Guardian. Once they got back into the main line of the story, then they were visible again.

There are lots of ways to wind up in NPC-land. (Technically, a game zone of non-player-characters where one player controls all aspects of this corner of game-world...essentially playing by him or herself.)

1) You can't think of another way to bring your new character into the game, so instead of meshing with existing players & action you create your own outside realm. Then you hope slowly to pull them together.

2) You decide a new storyline would be nice, so you take all your creative efforts & put them toward bringing that thread to life. Until you can get other players to buy in to your idea, you're basically in NPC-land.

3) As part of the game/story, your character gets isolated somewhere. Maybe imprisoned, or exiled, or going on some sort of personal quest, or trapped somewhere alone. It's happened & believe me, it's no fun until you can get your character out of that situation.

There are other ways, but these are the most common.

NPC-land is frustrating, both for the player stuck in it & the other players watching. Usually you see so much talent & energy going into something small that could be harnessed to really energize the game.

KTDARPG, like most role-plays, is based on the stratetic interactions of a multitude of players & characters. Interesting individuals bringing their unique characters--and their unique perspectives--into the game to create a "whole" that's definitely greater than the sum of its parts!

Don't get stuck in the graveyard, guys. There's a great game-world here just waiting for you to participate!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Great Game Moments

Whether you're new to KTDARPG or a veteran, there've been a lot of great game moments you may have missed. Game "firsts," character breakthroughs, moments that made us laugh ... from time to time it's fun to look back. Mostly because that's usually a good indication of what's ahead.

Here's a scene from Season-1 of our game. It left an impression on me for a very long time. I'll call it "Tree-killer." It's about power, but at the end it's more about the power of friendship & faith.

============

Hawk: (No. It can't be true. He did it...for his lover? My parents are dead along with so many others--all the suffering, slave camps, killings--BECAUSE OF THOSE TWO?!!!???)

*Hawk leaps up and walks over to the stand of trees, still in sight of Xeno and Chyna. She lashes out with her hands at a large oak tree, punching it, each time mentally saying:* No. *It begins to fall.* (They can't be gone because of him. There has to be another explanation.) *But even as she thinks it, she realizes the truth.*

*Where once stood an oak now is a woodpile with a small stump, and a silent figure standing with eyes riveted to the mountains.*

Chyna: *stunned* The virus...the Brotherhood...all of it... *the eyes piercing Xeno are blue-ice* (God help us.) *out loud* Hawk? *no answer. louder and more firmly* Hawk! Stop it! That's not helping anything! *gets up and stands halfway between Xeno & Hawk* Hawk--we're here for answers. Nobody said we were gonna like them. DEAL WITH NOW! We can't DO anything about the past. HAWK! Xeno said he'll answer our questions. (I don't think she can handle any more answers.)

*Hawk turns and Chyna shrinks from her friend--anger, pain, loss, grief all open and naked on her face.*

Chyna: (No, Hawk. We need him. If we're going to have a chance against the Brotherhood, he may be the leverage--or the weapon--we need.) *Plants herself firmly in Hawk's way. (I won't let you kill him. Not today.) *loudly, firmly:* HAWK. STOP IT. WE NEED MORE.

Hawk: *voice barely controlled* You take a chance, Chyna. (If I had been more in fight mode, it wouldn't have mattered who stood in my way.) *takes three deep breaths, voice is more controlled, looks at Xeno* Chyna is the only reason you are not dead. *faces Chyna, speaks softer* But I will follow your lead.

============

If you're at the game-site, be sure to check out the "Find the Right Post #" database for more great scenes from past seasons of the game!

-Chyna

Please surprise me!

Outrageous! That's when it gets fun!

"The Tribe" Season 1
Tribe Circus
Top Hat

Tribe Circus invaded Phoenix Mall & things went to hell really fast. From oldest to smallest, Mallrats tied up locked up shouted at laughed at played with threatened & pretty much outa control. Who knew it'd be the most unlikely one--independent, guard your valuables, "i don't need nobody" KC--who'd have the guts to stand up to the mob & get Top Hat off Trudy when things got down 'n dirty.

You had no clue what would happen next.
It was great!

Surprise -- the Ultimate Element

When things get predictable in KTDARPG, I look for the One who'll turn it upside down. Usually doesn't take much. A flash of lightning. Arrow in an unexpected place. Door where there wasn't one. Stranger in town. A competition that turns into something more.

Sometimes you gotta toss out the subtle approach. Don't get me wrong, "subtle" can be cool. It piques your interest, makes you wonder what's behind a frown or a smile or a few words that seem to mean a whole lot more.

But for the most part?
God, please surprise me!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Masks

Masks are wonderful things.

Don't like who you are? be someone else.

Don't trust the people around you? protective coloring is always good.

Change your fortune.

Change your stars.

Change your luck.

In rp, masks come with the territory. You don't have to worry about your character so much because this is text-based, not visual. If you want to keep your character somewhat secretive, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. DON'T TELL. That simple. What you don't tell in-game won't come back to haunt you (and the other players aren't ALLOWED to make stuff up about you...that'd be against the rules...hehehe).

Damn shame it's not that way in real-life, but then again that's why we have masks.

Masks protect.

Masks project.

Masks delude.

Masks conceal.

Masks can also be very revealing, if the person looking at you is smart enough to know what he's looking for.

Now, what about the rest of the costume, you say?

Ah, don't you know? You can be totally naked, and a good mask will keep you as anonymous as a shroud.

-Chyna

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

By any name

Friends, amigos, pals, buddies, brothers, sisters, mates ... we have lots of words to describe the people closest to us. Words don't matter so much. It's the meaning you're after.

What was more unlikely than the friendship between Alice 'n Lex? Sure, it had a rocky start but when the dust cleared...well, Alice would've been dead if not for Lex.

Real friends are kinda scarce in our post-apocalyptic gameworld. There's too much competition for shelter, food, other resources. You count on your tribe if you're lucky enough to have one. You don't count on the kindness of strangers. That friendly smile could hide the knife in the dark.

Don't get me wrong--there are friends. Most definitely are.

Some friendships are based on mutual need. Usually short term, for sure, but no less real.

Some are based on respect; not quite the same and not always mutual, but still mostly dependable.

Some are even based on affection. Rare enough in a world gone mad. Feelings are dicey and often fickle. You're grateful for them. You cling to them while they last. And you let fate play out.

The ones based on shared strengths seem to last the longest. Those friendships are not all give, not all take.

They can save your life.

Maybe even your soul.

-Chyna

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

The Knife at Your Back

KTDARPG is an interesting game.

Part of the "interesting" is finding out who you can trust. It's a slow process. Involves making mistakes along the way. You just hope they're the mistakes & missteps that you--and your character(s)-- can afford.

Who do you believe in?

Who do you trust to back your play?

How do you decide?

Lots of ways, but the easiest is also the most direct. Put it out there 'n see what happens. You find a make-or-break moment (even better, create one specifically for the purpose), and you test the waters.

There's a knife at your back. See who comes through for you.

Want it even more interesting?

As a good friend told me ... sometimes the knife at your back is there to protect you.

All knives are not in the hands of friends, though. The real trick is being able to tell the difference.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"