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The Word of the Pillars is the first Word Book for the Tribe 8 game line, adding additional detail to the Tribes of the Pillars (being Joan and Tera Sheba). The format is one that companies such as White Wolf has capitalized on, but I greatly prefer Dream Pod 9's approach in including the two Tribes in one book, as opposed to one book for each Tribe. Hopefully, future Word Books will be the Fates (Baba Yaga, Eva and Magdalen) and the Dancers (Agnes and Dahlia).

The first thing that has to be understood is that nearly all of the information, aside from the continuing storyline that runs through the book, contributes nothing more than added richness to these two Tribes. It does not greatly advance the story arc occurring in the Tribe 8 setting, although there is plenty of foreshadowing and allusion to things that are going to happen. In this light the supplement is surely not required for anyone running Tribe 8, although it does lend a lot of character to what could be the driest of the two Tribes

Getting to the meat of the book, it is divided into five chapters. The first is an introduction, giving a brief narrative concerning both Joan and Tera Sheba. Chapter two details the Tribe of Joan, with chapter three covering up with Tera Sheba. These two chapters are written almost exclusively in narrative format; chapter four follows up Joanite game resources, and Tera Sheban game resources finish the book with Chapter Five.

The good, in short: the writing is up to Dream Pod 9 and Tribe 8 standards. It offers amazing insight into the Tribe of Joan, and somewhat less stellar into that of Tera Sheba.

The Joanite section is particularly well done. Not only does it shed a lot of light on the diversity of the Tribe of Joan, but the storyline that runs through the narrative is well written, interesting and has a very nice twist to it. We get to see the clan of the Winter Wolf and learn about how the Glass-Smiths create stained glass artwork, among other things. By contrast the Tera Sheban section is drier and delivers less in the way of the unexpected. It does clear up the stereotype of the entirety of the Tera Sheban Tribe being made up of Judges and scribes, but this can easily be inferred from the main rulebook and other sources. Part of what I think ruins this is the fact that one of Tera Sheba's "secret" guilds, the Black Owls, are touched upon in the Children of Lilith campaign supplement. Either added detail on the Black Owls, or another guild (especially one highlighting a more diverse aspect of Tera Shebans) would have been very welcome.

Both the Joanite and Tera Sheban game resource chapters are laid out in a similar fashion to the sections in the Tribe 8 Companion on the Joshuans, Marians and Keepers. Brief, but informative, paragraphs walk the reader through theme, mood and how to use each Tribe in a variety of Cycles. Something that is very welcome is not only some specifics as to occupations within each Tribe (once again, the Joanites are more diverse and there is less that wasn't already known about the Tera Shebans), but the major clans of each and what they are known for. Rounding this up are write-ups of a few artifacts of each tribe, examples of rituals and important NPCs.

Now on to the bad…

Aside from the usual suspects of internal typos (there were actually few, but a Joanite jailer being referred to as a "Goaler" immediately granted me an image of someone in hockey gear) there is an external one as well. The back of the Word of the Pillars says "A new Aspect used by a secret guild within the Tribe of Joan". This Aspect is missing (unlike the "missing" Eminences from the Tribe 8 Companion, which are actually Fallen Eminences), although it has been said that it will be included in upcoming errata. Whichever one was an oversight - the Aspect not being included or the statement not being removed from the back cover - this is misleading.

At 80 pages, it is still a little thin for $17.95 US. I have some knowledge as to why the books are a little bit thinner - basically it has to do with the amount of pages Dream Pod 9 can produce a month - but while I am willing to soak the extra cost because of the quality of the writing, artwork and general coolness of the game it may be a turnoff for many people.

The write-ups of the NPCs are on the verge of realistic, with several coming near the 100 point mark for Attributes (regular PCs get 30). While this has been explained that these characters represent the "cream of the crop" of both Tribes, I would have preferred more skills (with specializations) than higher Attributes. The Joanite Cavalry Captain Basyl Loren has been used as an example - he has two stats at +3, two at +2, and four at +1 (for those keeping score at home, that's 68 Character Points). He is stated as being "Cavalry Captain", indicating he is in charge of the Joanite Cavalry only - but the author has stated that he is supposed to be Captain of all Joanites. There is no mention of this in the text or narrative, and it should have been stated more clearly. In defense of the decision to use such high stats, these characters do represent only very few among either Tribe. Given that Word of the Pillars is written from a point of view several months after the Children of Lilith Cycle, any PC running continuously would be an even match for these NPCs.

Overall, I would highly suggest the Word of the Pillars for a dedicated Tribe 8 Weaver or player, although it is hardly necessary to enjoy the game. If you're looking for ubermunchkin additions to the Tribe 8 setting you're certainly not going to get them (and since they didn't include them in the Joanite sourcebook, it's doubtful they'll appear in any other Tribe's book).

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Word of the Pillars
Author: Edwyn Kumar, Michael Butler Category: game Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Line: Tribe 8 Cost: $17.95 US Page count: 80 ISBN: 1-896776-55-8 SKU: DP-808 Capsule Review by Wil Hutton on 09/22/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Horror Post-apocalypse	The Word of the Pillars is the first Word Book for the Tribe 8 game line, adding additional detail to the Tribes of the Pillars (being Joan and Tera Sheba). The format is one that companies such as White Wolf has capitalized on, but I greatly prefer Dream Pod 9's approach in including the two Tribes in one book, as opposed to one book for each Tribe. Hopefully, future Word Books will be the Fates (Baba Yaga, Eva and Magdalen) and the Dancers (Agnes and Dahlia). The first thing that has to be understood is that nearly all of the information, aside from the continuing storyline that runs through the book, contributes nothing more than added richness to these two Tribes. It does not greatly advance the story arc occurring in the Tribe 8 setting, although there is plenty of foreshadowing and allusion to things that are going to happen. In this light the supplement is surely not required for anyone running Tribe 8, although it does lend a lot of character to what could be the driest of the two Tribes Getting to the meat of the book, it is divided into five chapters. The first is an introduction, giving a brief narrative concerning both Joan and Tera Sheba. Chapter two details the Tribe of Joan, with chapter three covering up with Tera Sheba. These two chapters are written almost exclusively in narrative format; chapter four follows up Joanite game resources, and Tera Sheban game resources finish the book with Chapter Five. The good, in short: the writing is up to Dream Pod 9 and Tribe 8 standards. It offers amazing insight into the Tribe of Joan, and somewhat less stellar into that of Tera Sheba. The Joanite section is particularly well done. Not only does it shed a lot of light on the diversity of the Tribe of Joan, but the storyline that runs through the narrative is well written, interesting and has a very nice twist to it. We get to see the clan of the Winter Wolf and learn about how the Glass-Smiths create stained glass artwork, among other things. By contrast the Tera Sheban section is drier and delivers less in the way of the unexpected. It does clear up the stereotype of the entirety of the Tera Sheban Tribe being made up of Judges and scribes, but this can easily be inferred from the main rulebook and other sources. Part of what I think ruins this is the fact that one of Tera Sheba's "secret" guilds, the Black Owls, are touched upon in the Children of Lilith campaign supplement. Either added detail on the Black Owls, or another guild (especially one highlighting a more diverse aspect of Tera Shebans) would have been very welcome. Both the Joanite and Tera Sheban game resource chapters are laid out in a similar fashion to the sections in the Tribe 8 Companion on the Joshuans, Marians and Keepers. Brief, but informative, paragraphs walk the reader through theme, mood and how to use each Tribe in a variety of Cycles. Something that is very welcome is not only some specifics as to occupations within each Tribe (once again, the Joanites are more diverse and there is less that wasn't already known about the Tera Shebans), but the major clans of each and what they are known for. Rounding this up are write-ups of a few artifacts of each tribe, examples of rituals and important NPCs. Now on to the bad… Aside from the usual suspects of internal typos (there were actually few, but a Joanite jailer being referred to as a "Goaler" immediately granted me an image of someone in hockey gear) there is an external one as well. The back of the Word of the Pillars says "A new Aspect used by a secret guild within the Tribe of Joan". This Aspect is missing (unlike the "missing" Eminences from the Tribe 8 Companion, which are actually Fallen Eminences), although it has been said that it will be included in upcoming errata. Whichever one was an oversight - the Aspect not being included or the statement not being removed from the back cover - this is misleading. At 80 pages, it is still a little thin for $17.95 US. I have some knowledge as to why the books are a little bit thinner - basically it has to do with the amount of pages Dream Pod 9 can produce a month - but while I am willing to soak the extra cost because of the quality of the writing, artwork and general coolness of the game it may be a turnoff for many people. The write-ups of the NPCs are on the verge of realistic, with several coming near the 100 point mark for Attributes (regular PCs get 30). While this has been explained that these characters represent the "cream of the crop" of both Tribes, I would have preferred more skills (with specializations) than higher Attributes. The Joanite Cavalry Captain Basyl Loren has been used as an example - he has two stats at +3, two at +2, and four at +1 (for those keeping score at home, that's 68 Character Points). He is stated as being "Cavalry Captain", indicating he is in charge of the Joanite Cavalry only - but the author has stated that he is supposed to be Captain of all Joanites. There is no mention of this in the text or narrative, and it should have been stated more clearly. In defense of the decision to use such high stats, these characters do represent only very few among either Tribe. Given that Word of the Pillars is written from a point of view several months after the Children of Lilith Cycle, any PC running continuously would be an even match for these NPCs. Overall, I would highly suggest the Word of the Pillars for a dedicated Tribe 8 Weaver or player, although it is hardly necessary to enjoy the game. If you're looking for ubermunchkin additions to the Tribe 8 setting you're certainly not going to get them (and since they didn't include them in the Joanite sourcebook, it's doubtful they'll appear in any other Tribe's book). Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)