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

Slavery

Slavery. It was a predominant theme in "The Tribe," and it's turned into a pervasive theme in KTDARPG.

Looking back, the slavery in "Tribe" Season-1 was pretty much out there. Trudy & Dal running away from the mall and smack into a slaver tribe collecting strays to sell. The tribe gathering on the beach, with Ebony strolling along, checking out the flesh for sale.
That was just the beginning. The Guardian & the Chosen pretty much made slaves out of anyone who didn't worship Zoot. Then there were the Technos. Slavery to technology (or addiction or whatever you wanna call it) was the form of control Ram used to take over the city. And Mega was even worse.

Our game started kinda the same way. When I first joined the game, my character's first scene was walking into a slaver-tribe's camp and looking through the bars of the compound where they kept their stock. It was kinda chilling ... and it still is.

Through 4 seasons & part of a 5th, slavery is still with us. In our game-world slavery is another form of survival. We continue to explore that theme, and it still has nuances we're discovering. It also still has relevance to the tribal world we've created and how our characters approach their own places in that world.

Physical slavery, slavery to dreams or loss, the enslavement of the weaker & smaller among us, slavery of the mind ...

It's harsh but it's real. We see it in our real-world every day. Hunger & need enslave just as surely as the strong keep overpowering the weak and using power to keep them down. Empires are generally built on somebody's back.

Maybe we'll work it out eventually. Find a solution. Move on.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Friends

As March comes closer & we can see the end of this crazy winter, I'm feeling a bit like the characters in our game. Winter's been miserably isolating at times with snow 'n ice, questionable driving and staying home just because that was easiest. Hibernating is fun for a day or two, but spring is better. My mind's easy to keep occupied, but my body demands it too. And you can only shovel so much snow...

But spring is out there. Not too far off now. And I wanted to say thanks to the friends who've got me through the winter. Without you it would've been a whole lotta boring.

Friends, unexpected conversations, shared music & photos & files, the game with its twists 'n turns...thanks, guys. I hope I've kept up my end of things too.

-Chyna

Market Day

It's an interesting concept: Market Day. In our game (at least for now) this occurs once a week near the old army base out by Tango Lake. Neutral territory since no tribe has staked out the place. It's a good-sized lake surrounded by reasonably flat meadow and then ringed by trees. Easy to get into. Easy to watch your back. And pleasant enough now that it's spring.

Market Day's important. It brings everyone together for a purpose: Trade. In our post-apocalyptic world, resources aren't what they used to be. You can't go to the local grocer for a couple of cans of soup. You can't step into the drugstore for aspirin or lipstick. There's no gas station/convenience store on the corner where you can grab a pack of cigarettes or a 12-pack of beer. There's not even a department store where you can find the latest styles ... in our world, style is kinda what you make of it at the moment, I guess.

In "The Tribe," they tried a couple of different variations on this theme. In Season-1 the tribes got together once on the seashore to trade, hold some friendly competitions, buy slaves 'n generally boost tribal reputations by displaying how prosperous they were & what they had to offer.

The next variation came at the Mallrats' mall. They opened it to traders but Lex & Co. oversaw the activities to make sure things stayed fair 'n square. (Lex found a way to get his piece of the action too, as usual.) They even tried to invent money to give everybody an even playing field. In the end, it didn't really work. You didn't see much of trading or bartering after maybe early Season-3.

But the concept of trading has stayed strong in KTDARPG. Sometimes it's extravagant like with an official "Market Day." Sometimes it's more focused like with Tom-F's shops & stores. Sometimes it's just enterprising kids on the street corner hawking what they've hoarded or been lucky enough to find.

You still can't find frozen foods. There isn't much of the tinned stuff left. Gasoline & a lot of other synthesized fuels are pretty much gone. But our people still need resources ... and our players remain resourceful enough to play true to game-conditions and still make sure we have what we need.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Fun 'n Games! Part-2

A recent game poll asked: "If you were the Master Plotter, how would you guide the game-story?" A variety of wild & crazy scenarios were proposed. The answers were interesting, to say the least -- and Power & Chaos were very much in evidence! Here are some of the more popular selections our players made.

Ace finds & kills the "Fort River After Dark" editor. This one was SUPPOSED to be a joke! "Fort River After Dark" is sort of an anonymous newspaper in the game that dishes the dirt on all sides. Apparently it's not...um...always popular with the people it dishes on. (haha!)

Tori loses her voice for a month. This was also a joke but a mild one & done with affection -- seems like others share the love. "Tori" is a character by one of our younger players who is a typical young teen. She has a lot of problems, asks a lot of questions, never lets up -- very much a reminder of our dear friends Patsy & Cloe from The Tribe.

Shikra comes back to haunt Prince. Ah, now this one makes sense. Prince & Shikra were like ships that passed in the night...and then kept bumping 'n passing 'n sending off sparks every time. Some of the best "love" moments in recent game seasons have been between those 2 characters. Unfortunately Shikra was killed in a big fight scene a few game-days ago...Prince hasn't found out about that yet. And who knows? Maybe she will haunt him for awhile...

The Wanderer is someone from game-past. This was a very popular choice among our players. It involves a new character, "The Wanderer," who hasn't really been revealed in-game yet. All very secretive & mysterious...and intriguing. Speculation is running high on whether he really IS a new character or someone from our game's past. I guess we'll see....

Actually, of all the choices given to our players, there was only 1 that didn't receive a single vote: Saber buys Val's bar and is hugely successful. Which I guess makes sense in a quirky way. To have a character buy a business venture & be successful with no snags or problems or anything...I guess to most players that sounds kinda boring.

That also probably says something large about our players -- they WANT to be challenged. Forget life as normal. Forget solving day-to-day problems & just going about the business of living. Sounds like they want the excitement 'n the adrenalin rush.

It's gonna be interesting to see if any of these proposed scenarios actually play out in-game. If nothing else, it won't be boring!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Fun 'n Games! Part-1

A recent game poll asked an interesting question: "If you werethe Master Plotter, how would you guide the game-story?" Then a variety of wild, crazy, maybe impossible scenarios were laid out for people to choose. The answers were interesting, to say the least. Power & Chaos were very much in evidence. Here's part-one of how our players voted.

The Grimms challenge the Misfits -- tribal war! This scenario was VERY popular, kind of dissing the idea that our players are tired of war & want a bout of peace for a change. So you know, the Grimms are a new tribe on the scene. They run a gambling den off Industrial Way. And the Misfits? Ah, popular tribe, this one. The game's first tribe & still its most well-drawn and interactive.

Prince uses his deputies to control the city. Some definite interest here. Prince is one of the game's 1st characters. He's been through a lot of changes through 4-1/2 seasons, including being popularly elected as Fort River's 1st Sheriff. He's also a "tributary" of the Warlord Seth, who contributed to his deputy force.

Hawk becomes the new River Rat leader. This seems to be a popular favorite. In-game, the River Rats tribe has been led by NPCs (non-player characters) since its first leader Chyna died at the end of Season-1. Now that the tribe is remaining in Fort River -- and since its current leader Jean has just been killed -- the election of a new strong leader seems to be in order.

Arianna & Scarecrow get married. Ah, this ranks among THE MOST POPULAR of the scenarios. Guess if you have war, you gotta have chaos! Haha! Lady Arianna has been the de facto leader of the Misfits almost since the beginning. Her lover died during the last AK battle. She's mourned him, carried on, and recently delivered his baby girl to the game. Now Scarecrow's come on the scene -- sensitive, quasi-mysterious, and apparently totally devoted to our lovely Misfit. Chyna adds her vote to this one -- our gameworld hasn't had it's first wedding yet. Maybe it's time?

More to come!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Rough around the edges

These days in Fort River are kinda rough. So rough that at least one player has sorta complained we've lost our sense of Tribe-ness because of it.

I wondered about that. So I strolled back through my Tribe ep-collection again. (Handy to have ... and fun on snowy days when tv's boring as hell ... )

Today our game has a bar & rooming house, a gambling den, fights in the street & people getting drunk 'n hooking up. Casual conversations, casual sex, casual deaths ... but life for our characters isn't really all that casual.

I'm gettin' ahead of myself. Back to The Tribe. Where Ruby had a bar and rented rooms. Lex spent a good part of a season doing nothing but getting drunk 'n getting into trouble. Everything about the Technos was fights (both real & virtual). The casino was a popular place on and off for several seasons. There were rebels, resistance, tribal wars, raids, personal grudges, stealing, one or two versions of prostitution or threats of rape ... it's all right there in glorious living color.

I guess everyone has their own version or "vision" of what tribal means. It's hard for one game to live up to everyone's expectations ... especially since KTDARPG has gone beyond the Tribe. Our survivors have lasted far longer than we saw in the tv show. And like Tribe-world, game-world is a rough place. Our survivors are mostly hardened to the realities of this world. They do what they have to do, to make it through another day. They may be rough around the edges, but they're doing the best they can.

My best advice to anyone who's complaining is to actually get in there and PLAY the game!

After all ... how can you complain if you stay on the sidelines & let the game pass you by? Hardly seems fair to the rest of us who are there day to day, doing the best we can.

If you want the story to go in a new or different direction -- play it!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Like the Pros do

For the newbies among us ... a word about the importance of research.

A role-playing game is fun because it stretches you, makes you learn new things & figure out how to apply them. It's similar to an actor preparing for a part, or a writer who needs to create something new. Research is key.

For example, in KTDARPG our world has no electricity. One of our players figured out a way around that stricture -- solar power. But she's not a solar-power-expert. She had to read up on it, see what components were involved, how to use that in the game to the advantage of her tribe. And it worked! (And, damn, some of us wish we'd thought of it first!)

Another good example: no medicines. Which means we're thrown back onto traditional meds, herbs & natural remedies. Ok, so we don't have an herbal expert among us. That means the players dealing with that part of our world had to do research, find out what herbs grow where/how, what parts of them you use & what each one is good for.

There are lots of other examples I could point out. How those among us who had no clue how to use weapons figured out the right way to use a sword or choreograph a fight. How to get (or make!) supplies like booze or candles or boots. How long tinned food really lasts. How to farm & harvest. How to bargain. How long it takes to find our you're actually pregnant. What to do to treat chicken pox. The list goes on and on and on ...

When we talk about "making it real in the game," what that means is knowing whereof you speak. We all have some areas of expertise -- and we work off each other to make our world come alive through out imaginations.

So don't stint on the research, guys! If you're having your character go someplace you've never been before? Make sure you know what you're talking about. It brings your character to life & helps the rest of us play our parts.

-Chyna

The Little Things

As game discussions continue about what "is" & "isn't" Tribal, it got me to thinking. Actually it got me to go back & re-watch some early Tribe eps, just to remind myself what it was about this show that appealed to me in the first place.

After maybe 4 episodes, yeah...I remembered. It was the little things the writers 'n producers 'n actors did to make Tribe-world real, to bring it to life. It was the Sight, Sound, Taste, Smell & Feel of that alternate reality that was so appealing. And if you go back & watch? It still is.

When it comes to KTDARPG? We've kinda let some of the small things slide. Not all, just some. Here are a few that come to mind...

Everybody's kinda sorta...perfect. Now since our game-world is 2 years past the virus & the adults dying, this could maybe be explained by natural selection. The strong survived; the weak didn't? Dunno if I buy that, but there has to be some reason nobody's wearing Old World glasses or seems to need them. Nobody we know has bad teeth. Matter of fact, none of the characters we've met has been described as anything but attractive or cute or whatever. Where'd the ugly kids go?

(In all fairness, one intrepid player has a character with a malformed arm/hand & a lead character who lost an eye in battle. So there's potential out there...)

The food supply is relatively...painless? In the tv show, there were at least 2 instances where animals were slaughtered (ok, off-screen but still part of the story) for food. And somebody had to do the slaughtering. In our game, as much as we're willing to rip up each other in a good fight or slaughter the bad guy(s), we are very strangely reluctant to be "real" when it comes to all of our food sources.

(And before anyone complains, Chyna is a rabid animal lover! I'm not advocating sacrificial lambs here, guys. But you KNOW our characters are eating meat every chance they get. Enough said...)

The mortality rate for our game-world is pretty low, considering. Considering that by now ALL the Old World medicines should either be past their use-by dates or completely gone. Considering that other than that pesky Virus, we've only seen 1 example of a disease that should actually be killing kids (the chicken pox back in Season-One). Considering hygiene should be mostly non-existent. Considering the positive plethora of girls who've had/are having babies in the current game season--not one time has a mother had any troubles delivering or recovering, and not one baby died. (Well, that's not true. One baby was kidnapped & killed, but I don't count that in this category.)

We've had an awful lot of kids die fighting enemies--other tribes, the Brotherhood, Anti-kids--even just in riots or natural disasters (like that hurricane at the end of Season-Three). But it seems like ordinary LIFE in this kind of world would be awfully hard...and awfully precious.

Anyway, just my thoughts. Don't get me wrong--we've got an awful lot of things RIGHT as our game has moved from season to season. Maybe these reality-avenues might be interesting to explore?

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

The Few

At the back of our game, around the corner, just outa sight are 5 people who work pretty hard day-in & day-out to make sure KTDARPG stays alive & runs smooth.

They are our Game Moderators. And before I go any farther, let me say THANK YOU! In a lot of ways our rp depends on your enthusiasm and the extra mile you go to make sure all of us have an enjoyable game experience.

Our intrepid Moderators have a thankless task. The job they've accepted really doesn't end. They welcome new members & answer players' questions, enforce game rules (ok, ok, do NOT use the phrase "game police" here--they're better than that), kick out spammers and support the game by voting in every poll, mediating player conflicts and posting as often as they can. In addition to all the above many moderators are involved in newsletters, game-related blogs, season digests, game data bases & other promotional efforts to be sure our players have a good time & draw in new members however we can.

If you're a KTDARPG player and you need one, you'll generally find a moderator online somewhere. Otherwise each one is just an email away. The current list of game moderators is available in the "members" section of our site.

Thanks, guys!

-Chyna

[Ok, I can't end this without saying I'm very proud to BE numbered among our game moderators. The friends I've made through KTDARPG & the fun we continue to have really is payment for the long hours and any headaches that come up. Hugs to all my fellow moderators--you know who you are!--I'm glad I know you.]

KTDARPG: Favorite Game Baddie

The first poll asked about heroes; the second was about villains. Our players were asked: "Ok, time to fess up and vote for your favorite bad guy or girl from the game to date! Just for fun...and maybe to see what kind of bad guys we love to hate as new ones are created for the game. VOTE FOR JUST ONE! Let's see who's made the most lasting impression."

Some were bigger than others; some were more recent than others; some were badder than others. The choices were (in alpha order):

Adult AK General (The power behind the Anti-kids and the last living adult--and turns out he was Hawk's uncle too!)

Asklepios (Absolutely mad crazy medical genius among the Brotherhood. His human experimentation was legendary--and feared! Seems he had a fondness for branding people.)

Brena (Queen of the Brotherhood. Enough said!)

Cricket (Green-faced beauty among the Grimms in their gambling den. Fondness for dipping metal-tipped fingernails into poison before a fight.)

Daddy Bacon (Skater and leader of skating gang, typical small-time baddy who knows how to take advantage of most everything and everyone that comes his way.)

Dread (Was only in Fort River for a short time but made an immediate impression--by taking over Drake's Bar and killing people to prove his point. Ultimately, we just never found out what his point was.)

Fel (AK leader in the Battle of the Southern Plains. Absolutely ruthless and unfeeling. Will sacrifice anything--and any one--to win.)

Lion-F (One of the 3 leaders of the Anti-kids. Wound up turning on Brena and seizing control for himself. Was responsible for loosing the kid-killing Virus on Fort River.)

Nemesis (Low on the totem-pole of the Brotherhood but very practiced in the arts of personal evil. Put females on leashes to make them behave and had no compunction whatsoever against killing for expediency. Luckily he was killed off early--this one gave a lot of people the creeps!)

Nyx (New baddy in town. Still early, but attitude speaks volumes!)

Rah (The boy who would be king. He had the attitude, the manpower and the resources to buy just about anything he wanted. Fond of torture and enslavement as inducements to cooperation too.)

Shemion (A Brotherhood general, pretty much left in charge in Fort River when the AK's attacked. Imprisoned Xeno. Blackmailed Chyna. Very much the military mind, which in the end was bad enough to consider him a bad-guy.)

Thorne (Original leader of the StormRiver tribe and the one who turned his tribe's interest to keeping and trading slaves. Was responsible for Chyna's poisoning as well as her excellent fighting skills.)

Tom-F (Speculation has always turned on whether Tom-F was really a bad guy or not. He was a merchant-king in Fort River, resource-rich and a wealth of information. His empire was vast and unrivaled in the city. But from there...it's all speculation.)

Once again, poll results don't matter as much as what our players have accomplished! Like the list of heroes, our slate of villains is rich with all levels of villainous behavior and potential. Believe me, creating a "bad" character is not an easy thing to do. Most of us have taken a shot at it, with some surprising results. Makes the tapestry that is our game a lot richer and more interesting, too.

-Chyna

KTDARPG Poll: Favorite Game Hero

Some recent polls for our game-players have proven interesting so I thought I'd describe them here.

The first was on "Favorite Hero" up to this point in the game. The poll said: "We've had heroes. Unfortunately most of them are dead now. Let's see who's made the most lasting impression."

The choices were (in alpha order):

Arianna (leader of the River Rats, voted to City Council, member of the Dynesraad, benefactress for many of Fort River's homeless kids, winner of the skate-competition and a surprising fighter all on her own)

Birds of Prey (they made all the different in the wars with the BH and AK, and many of them gave their lives to save others)

Chyna (helped in the Slavers war, helped to create the River Rats tribe, one of the resistance leaders at the battle of Merchant Street, gave her life for others in the Battle of the Southern Plains)

Fort River Freedom Fighters (won the battle of the Southern Plains against the Anti-kids)

Hawk (leader of the Birds of Prey, has spent most of her life fighting injustice to the innocent, helped create the River Rats tribe, defeated the Brotherhood, defeated the Anti-kids)

Prince (elected Sheriff of Fort River, member of the Misfits tribe, does everything in his power to help the people who are important to him and make the city safe for those who live there)

River Rat Warriors (elected to follow Chyna and Hawk to fight the Brotherhood, even when there was little hope of winning, most died fighting beside their friends)

Sid (one of the leaders of the Reapers, one of the leaders of the Travelers, leader of the Traveler Horsemen)

Tara (minor heroic figure, traveling mercenary warrior, involved in many battles including the last AK battle)

Traveler Horsemen (led by Sid, pledged to fight the AK and injustice no holds barred)

West (minor heroic figure, traveling mercenary warrior and leader of mercenaries, involved in many battles including the last AK battle)

Xeno (began as one of the leaders of the Brotherhood but left them and pledge to fight against them, with Chyna made sure the Battle of the Southern Plains was decided in favor of the Freedom Fighters)

Like I said, this was a poll for people to pick their favorites. But more importantly? Just the list of heroic figures is important--unique & special individuals from all backgrounds who weren't afraid of a fight, weren't afraid of dying for what they believed in.

Which reflects on our players--unique & special individuals from all backgrounds, coming together in a game that tends to make each of us more than we are.

-Chyna

Anti-hero, Part-2

Ok, continuing from last time.....

The anti-hero was very much present in "The Tribe." Kinda makes sense, in a civilization where the kids were thrown back and having to start from scratch. It wasn't so much fighting against societal norms as redefining them every single day.

The heroes were easy to spot because there were so few of them. The leaders were of course Amber & Bray. Others had their heroic moments--Dal, Alice, Jack.

Anti-heroes? Everywhere. Lex tops the list. Ebony. Luke. Slade. May. Jay. I'd even argue that Zoot wasn't so much a Big Bad as an anti-hero who died before he could find his own redemption through his daughter. Actually it seems like most of "The Tribe's" anti-heroes were destined to be redeemed by good old normal love 'n affection. Lex & Taisan? Jay & Amber? Ebony & Slade? May and...well, somebody, eventually. (According to the plotline-that-didn't happen, her redemption could've been Salene. A shame The Powers That Be thought their audience was too whatever to handle that.)

As with most things, we find that KTDARPG follows our inspiration... where it doesn't go beyond it. And we've gone beyond the original in many ways. But the stereotypical anti-hero remains faithful.

From the earliest seasons, Xeno and Chyna were very much anti-heroes--Xeno with the release of the Virus and the deaths of the adults, Chyna also with blood on her hands and a cold heart that saw death as casual. They both died for love and to save the lives of others.

Some are less clear-cut. In my mind, Prince is an anti-hero...but I'm still not sure after all this time which way he's finally gonna jump. (And that's a good thing! Nothing like keeping your audience guessing, guy!) I also put Sid in this list with his less-than-stellar beginnings, his affiliation with the Travelers, mistakes & triumphs, and his search for redemption that's still going on. Brena fits here, queen of the Brotherhood who just wanted love and acceptance and to do the right thing. Even though almost all her efforts went wrong...well, she died too soon.

In the game today? Ah, we have characters who SAY they seek to atone for past sins...we just haven't seen enough to know if that's true or not.

The ones I'll call anti-heroes now strictly because of their actions in game are few. Marionette fits the category. His past has been described; we've witnessed his "sins" and his violence, and right now we're watching his attempts at amends. Zero also fits, though we have less evidence to go on here. But he's following the pattern so that's good enough.

Of the others? Ace and Eris, Scarecrow, Nightshade, Villa...lots of possibilities, but we'll have to see how it all plays out.

And after all, that's the fun part. You expect heroes to BE heroes like Arianna & Hawk. You expect bad guys to BE bad (today's candidates are Urick, Blasko, Cricket, Nyx & Blackrose).

It's the anti-heroes who'll surprise you.

What can I say? Chyna likes surprises!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

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"