Change

No matter what you do, "change" catches up with you.

Good. Bad. Indifferent. Doesn't matter.

If nature abhors a vaccuum, then it hates stagnation more.

Change in The Tribe was as obvious as the Virus and as constant as struggling to live daily. Hell, they were kids. Teenagers. That's pretty much the definition of change. Want more? The Chosen. And just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, here come the Technos. Sometimes I believe the core theme of The Tribe was change in all its forms, for better or worse.

I guess you can use other words. Growth. Evolution. Advancing civilization. Problem is, the older I get, the more "change" = "bad."

I know, I know. I'm rambling.

Change.

Ok. life IS change. That theme keeps carrying over, especially in KTDA. Our game reflects the aspects of life each of us feel. We put it out there through our characters then see how others react. Sometimes those reactions are what we expect--disinterest usually. Bored. Ignored. Other times we're surprised when a character reacts with caring, concern, even a willingness to "let me help." Those are high points, for real.

KTDA is preparing for a pretty big change, coming soon. This time it's a dual change. We're going into our game's Season-9. That means new plots, new characters, new situations, maybe new players. We're also doing a 2-month time jump and going straight to October and autumn. That'll be a refreshing change from the whacked out summer we've endured.

The season change also brings our game full circle. It will be one full game-year that we've played. For the handful of us who've been with the game since Season-1, that's bringing back a lot of memories. It's also hitting us over the head with how the game has changed. Characters we've loved and lost. Battles we've fought. Struggles we've endured. Decisions we've made.

Change.

Just like life.

Sometimes it sucks. Sometimes it brings the best surprises.

Wouldn't it be nice, if we could choose?

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

Learning about rpg'ing, Tribe-style

I'm waiting on a season-change in KTDA. A couple things have to happen yet, and they're goin' kinda slow. I guess that's making me brood.

Tonight I'm thinking about all of our players. We have quite a few these days, and that's so cool. I'm thinking about the differences among them--writing styles, the way they see their characters, likes & dislikes, that kinda thing.

I'm thinking of "Danni" and "Salene."

A lot of players remind me of Sal. Salene seemed to be mostly a background kinda girl. A brick. You knew who she was & you could always count on her to stay true to form. She went along. She got along with people. Whatever situation she found herself in, Salene tried to do what she thought she was supposed to. She was a reactionary. Need a few examples? No worries.

Salene & Trudy. Trudy had a baby; Sal became chief baby sitter. It was a good role for her. She knew what to do & how to do it. Salene & the Chosen. She joined up and actually wound up believing in the myth of Zoot. Whatever they told her to do, she did. It was the same in her relationship with Ryan. Amazing that she was the only one among the girls to find a boyfriend who was more interested in being her friend than sleeping with her, huh? But that was our Salene. She didn't change an awful lot from beginning to end. Dependable, predictable, solid.

"Danni" was something different. We didn't know her long. Then again, sometimes you had to wonder if we really knew her at all. (That whole "daughter of the guy who invented the Virus" stuff totally caught me off guard!) The only thing predictable about Danni was her zeal. She drove the action rather than waiting for it to drive her. Danni's "bill of rights." The Mallrats' trading market with money they created. The way she took forever to bend a knee to the Guardian. Then again...did she? We didn't know her long but she was a whirlwind who pulled a lot of people (like Bray & Lex) along in her wake.

It's an interesting parallel.

Our Salene-like players are solid. They can play a scene with the best of us. They get every emotion & detail out of it until you can see that scene playing out vividly in your mind.

Our Danni-like players are the ones that pull us through the story. They find new tales to tell, new directions to take us, and new ideas for us to flesh out & bring to life.

You just gotta play to your strengths. Always.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"