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This, in a nutshell, is a wonderful addition to an already strong game. I am quite pleased with the Tribe 8 Companion... but I must (reluctantly) say that it did not meet all my expectations.

Don't get me wrong. This is a spectacular book and is a nice addition to Tribe 8. One great aspect to this book is that it answers questions. Yup... with the bacis book and then the Vimary Sourcebook we were all inundated with questions and got back few answers. The Tribe 8 Companion takes a few of those questions and answers them. However, there are a couple of parts to this product that I feel are not up to Dream Pod 9's normal stellar quality.

Not a steallar product... but still miles above any other gaming line I have come across.

The art is spectacular. Consistant with the text and pleasing to look at... two big thumbs up. Dream Pod 9's art has always been the best in the business and the Companion is no exception. The cover is an especially eye-catching glyph of the 7 tribes.

The Tribe 8 Companion includes information on the lost tribes of Joshua and Mary (hooray!). We finally see what Mary looks like as well. This part of the Companion is great. The two lost tribes are intertwined but at the same time are not reproductions of themselves. They are filled with personality and goals of their own. Rules are included on playing a PC from either of the lost tribes. There is also a whole host of advice on playing and Weaving the lost tribes. A very big plus. Now the Joshuans and Marians are very playable. Though some of the Joshuan stuff was basically reprinted from Children of Lilith.

Then we get more info on the Keepers... a perennial favorite. More sites in the Rust Wastes are detailed as is a whole host of Keeper NPCs. A couple of new Keeper groups are also added that exemplify the diversity of the Keepers. Rules on the Keepers as PCs and Weaving cycles with Keepers playing a prominet role can also be found (keeping in the spirit of the Weaver's Assistant). However, the rules for playing Keeper PCs is a bit skimpy and nothing really exciting is added to their character creation.

Yeah, yeah, I know that we as the players of Tribe 8 shouldn't want or need new and spectacular powers for each supplement to be worthwhile (like D&D or Whitewolf)... but I was really hoping from some nifty Keeper powers... or at least additions to techno-smithing. Oh well, it is a minor gripe anyway. I digress.

Rules and advice for using 'circles' in a T8 cycle is also provided (Basically adventuring groups with a purpose). This is a nice idea that is executed well... helping Weavers come up with a reason to put a group together. Plus, more personalities are provided and a few more agendas are revealed indirectly throughout the 'circle' chapter. Nice.

Toward the back of the book we get some really handy info that will be a great boon to any cycle. New rules on combat... including piecemail armor, revised weapons, combat manuvers, and tons of other stuff in included as well as a (ahem) beatiful essay on the population and economics of Vimary.

Yup, we finally have something more substantial to help us with that pesky barter system. Tribal roles also make a bit more sense.

I put off writing about my least enjoyed part of the book 'till last. The two adventures. Indivdually these adventures are great. One involves you with a legenday group of Marians and the other has you recovering the body of a dread enemy. Cool and all. It is just that the two adventures are too similar. Both deal with leaving Vimary and Hom to explore the Outlands. Both have the PCs questing for a powerful artifact (of sorts). Both play heavily on the exploration aspect of the game.

I just feel that considering how young the game is a wider selection of adventures dealing with different aspects of the game would have been a better choice. In the end the two adventures overall theme are too similar in my opinion. Why not have the PCs go to H'l Kar? Or have them spend some time in Bazaar even? Venturing into the Outlands as opposed to some of the other places has already been done (Children of Lilith). I want some adventures focusing on Playground, or H'l Kar, or the Rust Wastes. The Outlands are still too vague to be a repeatedly used site for PCs in Tribe 8.

Okay, enough venting. The adventures are good... I need to stress that. It is just they seem too stylistically similar and that Dream Pod 9 should have selected one or ther other... not both.

Oh, oh and one other thing about the adventures. One (St. Christopher and the Croatan) has the PCs as still part of the tribes. Why is this? All the info up until now has focused on PCs as Fallen, and then this adventure comes from out of nowhere and has the PCs as Tribals? I think this is a bad choice and will require some tweaking on the part of the Weaver to be useable for an existing group (unless you try a flachback or somethin'). The imagery in St. Christpher and the Croatan is nice (especially the stuff on the World Before) but I think an adventure focusing on the Keepers would have been a much better choice for inclusion in this book. Sangreal is a real fun adventure that is refreshingly quick and familiar. It is a keeper (no pun intended).

In the final analysis... this in another great product that is useful to both Weavers and Players at the same time. Rules in here will really add to cycles and there are enough tidbits and stories in here to keep a group occupied for a long time. However, content wise I was a little let down.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Tribe 8 Companion
Author: Phil Anderson, Marion Anderson, Amanda Kool, Philippe R. Boulle, Michael Butler, Hilary Doda, John Morrow, Joshua Mosqueira Ashiem, Lucien Soulban Category: game Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Line: Tribe 8 Cost: Somewhere around $20 Page count: 112 ISBN: DP9-805 Capsule Review by Chris Gunning on 04/05/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Horror Post-apocalypse	This, in a nutshell, is a wonderful addition to an already strong game. I am quite pleased with the Tribe 8 Companion... but I must (reluctantly) say that it did not meet all my expectations. Don't get me wrong. This is a spectacular book and is a nice addition to Tribe 8. One great aspect to this book is that it answers questions. Yup... with the bacis book and then the Vimary Sourcebook we were all inundated with questions and got back few answers. The Tribe 8 Companion takes a few of those questions and answers them. However, there are a couple of parts to this product that I feel are not up to Dream Pod 9's normal stellar quality. Not a steallar product... but still miles above any other gaming line I have come across. The art is spectacular. Consistant with the text and pleasing to look at... two big thumbs up. Dream Pod 9's art has always been the best in the business and the Companion is no exception. The cover is an especially eye-catching glyph of the 7 tribes. The Tribe 8 Companion includes information on the lost tribes of Joshua and Mary (hooray!). We finally see what Mary looks like as well. This part of the Companion is great. The two lost tribes are intertwined but at the same time are not reproductions of themselves. They are filled with personality and goals of their own. Rules are included on playing a PC from either of the lost tribes. There is also a whole host of advice on playing and Weaving the lost tribes. A very big plus. Now the Joshuans and Marians are very playable. Though some of the Joshuan stuff was basically reprinted from Children of Lilith. Then we get more info on the Keepers... a perennial favorite. More sites in the Rust Wastes are detailed as is a whole host of Keeper NPCs. A couple of new Keeper groups are also added that exemplify the diversity of the Keepers. Rules on the Keepers as PCs and Weaving cycles with Keepers playing a prominet role can also be found (keeping in the spirit of the Weaver's Assistant). However, the rules for playing Keeper PCs is a bit skimpy and nothing really exciting is added to their character creation. Yeah, yeah, I know that we as the players of Tribe 8 shouldn't want or need new and spectacular powers for each supplement to be worthwhile (like D&D or Whitewolf)... but I was really hoping from some nifty Keeper powers... or at least additions to techno-smithing. Oh well, it is a minor gripe anyway. I digress. Rules and advice for using 'circles' in a T8 cycle is also provided (Basically adventuring groups with a purpose). This is a nice idea that is executed well... helping Weavers come up with a reason to put a group together. Plus, more personalities are provided and a few more agendas are revealed indirectly throughout the 'circle' chapter. Nice. Toward the back of the book we get some really handy info that will be a great boon to any cycle. New rules on combat... including piecemail armor, revised weapons, combat manuvers, and tons of other stuff in included as well as a (ahem) beatiful essay on the population and economics of Vimary. Yup, we finally have something more substantial to help us with that pesky barter system. Tribal roles also make a bit more sense. I put off writing about my least enjoyed part of the book 'till last. The two adventures. Indivdually these adventures are great. One involves you with a legenday group of Marians and the other has you recovering the body of a dread enemy. Cool and all. It is just that the two adventures are too similar. Both deal with leaving Vimary and Hom to explore the Outlands. Both have the PCs questing for a powerful artifact (of sorts). Both play heavily on the exploration aspect of the game. I just feel that considering how young the game is a wider selection of adventures dealing with different aspects of the game would have been a better choice. In the end the two adventures overall theme are too similar in my opinion. Why not have the PCs go to H'l Kar? Or have them spend some time in Bazaar even? Venturing into the Outlands as opposed to some of the other places has already been done (Children of Lilith). I want some adventures focusing on Playground, or H'l Kar, or the Rust Wastes. The Outlands are still too vague to be a repeatedly used site for PCs in Tribe 8. Okay, enough venting. The adventures are good... I need to stress that. It is just they seem too stylistically similar and that Dream Pod 9 should have selected one or ther other... not both. Oh, oh and one other thing about the adventures. One (St. Christopher and the Croatan) has the PCs as still part of the tribes. Why is this? All the info up until now has focused on PCs as Fallen, and then this adventure comes from out of nowhere and has the PCs as Tribals? I think this is a bad choice and will require some tweaking on the part of the Weaver to be useable for an existing group (unless you try a flachback or somethin'). The imagery in St. Christpher and the Croatan is nice (especially the stuff on the World Before) but I think an adventure focusing on the Keepers would have been a much better choice for inclusion in this book. Sangreal is a real fun adventure that is refreshingly quick and familiar. It is a keeper (no pun intended). In the final analysis... this in another great product that is useful to both Weavers and Players at the same time. Rules in here will really add to cycles and there are enough tidbits and stories in here to keep a group occupied for a long time. However, content wise I was a little let down. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)