Necessity to Fight

One of the constants throughout "The Tribe" ... and throughout our Tribe rpg ... is fighting. Tribes fight outcasts & renegades. Tribes fight tribes. Tribes band together to fight bigger threats.

Why do we fight? For shelter, food, clothes. For the safety of our family, our friends, our tribes. We fight out of loyalty. We fight out of rage.

"The Tribe" season 1 was mostly tribes fighting tribes for resources in the city. Seasons 2 & 3, the tribes fought the Chosen. Season 4 was Ram & the Technos. Season 5 was Mega & his Techno remnants.

KTDARPG season 1 we fought the Brotherhood. Season 2 we fought the Anti-kids. Season 3 we fought the elements & each other. Season 4 was the beginning of the little war lords; we had the return of Lion-F as well as Pyro and Dread. Season 5 added Rah to the warlord hit-list.

Now we're in season 6 so I'm just guessing here...we've got Blasko & his 100. We've got some unseen slavers having an impact on our characters. We had a nasty tribe called the Grimms who tried to whomp the Misfits and got exterminated. And it's still early, so who knows what may happen yet.

Mostly, it seems like our players get antsy when there isn't an enemy to fight. There's training going on, characters learning how to defend themselves ... and it all seems like we're just waiting until the next big go-round.

Maybe it's just that calm life is boring. The knights of the round table needed a quest to keep them from fighting each other. We just haven't found the right "quest" yet.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 The Tribe

"The Tribe" morphs at Dragon*Con

Alas, no Tribal Gathering at Dragon*Con this year. No Tribe stars slated to attend. No Caleb-Ross-watching at the Drum Circle. No Tribe fandom present ... well, not exactly. But there is something.

This from the track descriptions for Dragon*Con 2007:

Apocalypse Rising

"Out of the ashes of the North American Tribal Gathering rises a whole new breed of programming -- Apocalypse Rising: Apocalyptic Themes In Popular Media. Making our debut at Dragon*Con 2007, we offer a contemporary look at the end of days and all that will follow. And as we all know you can't have a good apocalypse with out such fandoms as "Jeremiah," "Jericho," "The Tribe," zombies and more! Programming will look at apocalyptic themes in movies, television, books and music and even prophecy, theology and mythology."

So far the guests for this trck include Sean Astin who was in "Jeremiah" (more prominently in "Lord of the Rings") & Scott Allie from Dark Horse Comics.

Here's an example from the programs being offered:

Oops! How To Survive An Apocalyptic Crisis -- If the world as you know it came to an end tomorrow, would you know how to survive? Sure, there are lots of resources built up by man, but they won't last forever. Come learn what to do before, during and after a crisis to prepare yourself and survive.

-----------------
As they say in Atlanta, everyone comes
to Dragon*Con. Will you be there?

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

The Loneliness

I know, I know...what drew kids like a magnet to "The Tribe" was the premise: adults are wiped out. Kids rule the world. Who hasn't thought -- we could do it better. we wouldn't screw it up the way they did. who needs them?

Reality-wise, that premise has more to do with being alone. And to me, that's a lot scarier. It's probably why Season-1 remains my favorite of them all.

On the show, you didn't just wake up one morning & find a world full of kids. No, each child no matter the age had to deal with their parents getting sick, dying one by one. They had to watch media coverage that told them the same thing was happening everywhere else, and that the adults couldn't seem to stop it. If your brothers and sisters were over 21, they were affected too. Some died in the hospital but others died at home, and the kids were left to deal.

I imagine in those last few weeks it was more chaos than any tv show could've portrayed. It was a slow process, a slow breakdown, a slow realization that this is it. There's no going back.

It was only mentioned once that I can remember, by Bray. He talked about when The Loneliness came.

The Loneliness.

That's how they described the in-between time, after the deaths & before you actually began to deal with it and move forward. The time when you KNEW that you'd lost everything. The whole world as you knew it had turned upside down. A feeling of being alone that was so profound you were paralyzed from it.

Ok, yeah, not everybody felt that way. Zoot and others like him just shot straight ahead. No thinking, just doing. Realizing I'm mixing my metaphors here...As Faith the Slayer was so fond of saying, "See, Want, Take." The world was open, and Zoot took. The ultimate teenage fantasy--everything I want is mine for the taking. If you're strong enough, who's gonna tell you no?

Go back and watch Season-1 sometime. It's truly the scariest of them all. A pregnant Trudy about to give birth in a world without doctors or just people knowing what they're doing? Lex faced with the reality of really, really having to slaughter an animal for food and finding that he just couldn't do it? Salene at the mercy of strangers & realizing there's no police to call, no parents protecting her, no one to rely on but herself? There are lots of moments like that.

It's fun to play "what-if." It's compelling when it's a tv show. But the reality?

-Chyna

Bedroom Eyes

From the beginning ... Early Season 1 and Lex is all put out because Zandra ... well, because she won't put out. Enter Taisan, our new-age girl who knows what to do to re-align Lex's chakras. And so, ladies & gents, we have our first "Tribe" bedroom scene that Taisan described quite accurately as for the good of the tribe.

"The Tribe" was never ever shy about the carnal aspects of teenagers in a world without adults telling them what to do 'n what NOT to do. Society was down the tubes. The kids were in charge and, quite frankly, hormones are a very important aspect of the teen years.

If I remember right, every major character had a bedroom scene. The photos here are just a sample of the MANY available throughout 5 adventurous & wicked creative seasons.

I remind some of my fellow KTDARPG players about this constantly--usually teasing when somebody is shying away from game relationship-building.

I have to admit though, it's not easy. Writing love scenes in a game? And trying to keep "discretion" in mind because we have kids of all ages who read out game? Yeah, not easy at all. Plus the fact that some guy-players are just not comfortable writing that way. The ones that are, they've found some surprising ways to deal with amorous scenes and be suggestive without taking it too far. Those scenes have been fun to read and added HUGELY to character development and motivation in the storylines. Then, too, we have a lot of scenes that finally "fade to black," and you're left to your imagination. Which is not bad, not bad at all.

As a game, KTDARPG has tried to deal with all aspects of real life. Some are easier than others. Competing for food and living space. Protecting your tribe. Having a good time in a less-than-perfect world. Living, fighting, carousing, dying and dealing with what comes after. Finding somebody to love and actually expressing that love are just more aspects of the world we play in.

C'mon, guys! Life--and love--are not spectator sports!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

Love 'n Marriage

Five seasons of "The Tribe" and (if I count this right) 4 marriages.

Into our 6th season of KTDARPG & we've had 1 marriage. But since that one was actually a sham considering it was Lion-F & Brena, under duress, and she killed him within about 20 seconds of the I-do's...let's make that 5-plus seasons & no weddings for the game.

Methinks I know what happened with the series & maybe why the same hasn't happened in our game.

The "Tribe" characters seemed almost desperate at times for some of the normal conventions they were familiar with before all the adults died. They tried creating money, having dance parties, starting a school, having city elections, marriage...none of them seemed to turn out quite right.

Marriage certainly didn't. By the end of season-5 not one marriage was left standing.

> Lex & Zandra - Zandra died on Eagle Mountain.
> Lex & Taisan - Taisan disappeared with the Technos.
> Salene & Ryan - The Guardian made Ryan disappear.
> Ram & Ebony - Ebony got herself a divorce.

But love never did run smooth for our Tribe avatars, with or without marriage. Trudy kept lovin' 'em & losin' 'em. Bray disappeared on Amber. Ved disappeared on Cloe. Pride died on May & Salene. Java died on Ram. And on it went!

Our game isn't too much better. The one wedding we had was a forced affair & the groom didn't survive. Jade was supposed to marry Tom-F, who would up dead. Krystal was engaged to Jason who suddenly went walkabout to parts unknown.

Wait! We did have one "mating" that would've done Pride proud! The lucky couple who went away & did their vows privately seem to be doing very well--Creed & Hawk. They've even picked up a baby boy along the way. Guess we'll have to wait 'n see on this one. But it really seems like, for most of our characters (and their players!) the convention of marriage is just an Old World relic and not really that relevant in this brave New World.

I'm not gonna list the affairs gone wrong or the couples that are now "surviving singles." As for couples & maybe-couples currently active--Arianna & Scarecrow, Zero & Jade, Nightshade & Craven, Villa & Marionette, Vincent & Valentine, Maggie & Johnny, Eris & Ace (i hope i haven't forgot anybody!)--only time will tell.

Personally I'm thinking marriage is an out-dated & over-rated convention. It satisfies the church and the government but little else.

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.............

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

R & R

A world without adults was a pretty intense place to live. Competition for every scrap of food or piece of clothing or drink of water. Even competition to breathe if you happened to cross Zoot or some other Big Bad

And, gee, whaddaya know? Can't just duck out and take a weekend off at Six Flags or Club Med or Disneyland. You got what you got -- intense, real, messy.

So what did characters do for a break when the going got a bit too rough?

Ah, they went walkabout.

Bray did it a lot but only short-term. Usually he was just exercising his "loner" tendencies (well, except for that one time he schitzed out about Amber being kidnapped & went on a drinking binge). Trudy had her own little walk-out when the baby got too much to deal with. (Luckily Dal went with her; her luck held when she barely escaped being taken by slavers.) Jack took the long walk after he found out his love actually loved another.

But hey, they all came back. No harm, no foul.

Still that's one thing we haven't emulated so much in KTDARPG. Sure players/characters come 'n go. Players go on vacation or take extended leaves and put their characters some place safe until they get back.

But generally in the game we find ways to deal and have a bit of fun along the way. Examples? Skateboard competitions. Soccer matches. "Solstice Day" with its parades & free food & music & fireworks. Even just slumber parties or dinner parties or an occasional Girls' Night Out.

All work 'n no play holds in our game-world just as it does in the real world. Hey, if it ain't fun? Then why are we here?

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"

More on Friends

If anything at all struck me deep & stayed with me about "The Tribe," it was the quality of the friendships we saw played out on the screen each week. Who do you trust in a world that's turned upside-down? When families are pretty much ripped apart & everyone's in competition for the last of everything, how do you make yourself vulnerable enough to find the people who can help you survive?

And yet it happened. We saw the Mall Rats formed from a bunch of people who honestly had little reason to trust each other...but it worked. The Mall Rats stayed a strong tribe through 5 difficult seasons.

Then there were the personal friendships, some of them improbable at best. Each one was precious & solid, sometimes right up to the worst ending possible. Amber and Dal...Jack and Dal...Salene and Amber...Salene and May...Patsy and Cloe...Amber and Pride...Jack and Ellie...there were more but you get the idea.

I've watched the same kinds of friendships develop in KTDARPG. Each one of them was built up in the game, not just made to magically appear. Chyna and Hawk, that was a friendship so strong that even in death you could feel it. The 13 is a solid group built on some very strong friendships that have survived blood & madness. Arianna and Valentine...Prince and Chyna...Arianna and Lily...Krystal and Hawk...so many more. And in our game we have two tribes that were built on friendships & survival. The Misfits started our game 3 years ago and that tribe is still solid. The River Rats formed from the remnants of two warring tribes to find a better way to build the future.

Friendships matter. That's a lesson that still has value.

To the friends I've made, especially in the game, you have more value than you know. Thanks.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"