The Inside Scoop on Gaming

When I first heard of Dream Pod 9 I was quite skeptical that their books were some of the best in the industry. I didn't hear of them while I knew all about such companies like Chaosium and ICE. I've read reviews here of the products and figured it was the rantings of a few fanboys. Then one day I was in the local hobby shop when I came upon a cover which caught my eye: It was dark in color and had an orange title with some arcane looking signs. The bottom read "The Past is dead. Your Future begins now." That was when I read the intro of the Tribe 8 rulebook and instantly knew this was the game for me. I went to the clerk, plopped down my $30 and went home as fast as I could to read my new addition to the library.

I loved the book. I finished it up in a few hours and soon bought a few more books for Tribe 8. And I liked them a lot too. The setting for this game for those who don't know is of post-apocolyptic earth after a race of spirits come from beyond the Fold(the term for the difference between our world and the spirit world) came forth and imprisoned humanity and did things that would make a cultist of Cthulhu cringe. Anyway, humanity after being in these camps fought back with the help of eight Fatimas(sort of like dieties) and one Fatima was killed and the other seven took the survivors and formed their tribes. The 8th tribe is a bunch of outcasts.

That brings me to the race from the spirit world who did this to humanity: the Z'Bri. The other books left them as a mystery, but even then they didn't give them as much character as the Tribes had. Not only that, but I found myself itching my head on why the heck a Serf would stay with such creatures. A Serf is a human who willingly stays in the Z'Bri homelands. With the graphic descriptions of the torture of humanity, it would have to be a *good* reason as to why Serfs willingly stay with their cruel and heartless masters.

I not only found a good amount of info and character about the Z'Bri in this book, but it gives a much better understanding of the Serfs. In fact, the twist on the Serfs is disturbing(I won't divulge it here. It's a pretty big revelation.) So what do you get? You get 128 pages of horrible accounts of the Z'Bri.

First, the layout of the book isn't all that bad. Much like the Tribe 8 Rulebook, the setting stuff is told from the first person and NPC's are in sidebars. The cover art is disturbing. It's good, but it makes your imagination go in overdrive. The inside art isn't all that bad either for those who don't mind seeing black and white sketches that look "incomplete." Incomplete is the best word I can think of because the art(much like the text) isn't going to slap you in the face. It's subtle. It leaves a lot of room for interpretation(much like the best horror films/books let your imagination conjure up it's own fears.)

Onto the substance itself. The first chapter is an introduction. It covers some of the basic stuff you would think of with the Z'Bri: the Camps, the Closing, the way the Z'Bri were before they crossed the Fold, etc. It's OK, but it's mostly a rehash of what we knew. The second chapter is on House Sangis. The Sangis are a despicable house which uses seduction to experience the Seed. The ideas in it are great. And the imagry the chapter conjures up are some repulsive pictures(such as walking thru a corridor filled with human genitals and being soaked with the secretions.) It also goes into detail about the power plays these creatures are always involved in.

Chapter 3 is on the Koleris. The Koleris are the warriors of the Z'Bri. The writing here tells a story about how the Koleris suffer after their lord Tibor was slain by Joshua(refer to the Tribe 8 Rulebook for more info.) This house used to be the top of Z'Bri society but after Tibor's fall, they became basically slaves to the Sangis. These creatures *need* to kill in order to experience the seed. And after the humans left the Camps, they haven't been able to kill nearly as often as they used to. They are almost as worthy of pity as they are of contempt.

The 4th chapter covers House Flemis. This is the best chapter on the houses in my opinion. The reason is because this House is the hardest for most humans to understand. All of us are individuals whereas the Flemis are a hive with no difference in members. It's interesting to see how these creatures think- instead of saying "I", they say "we." When they are paying attention to Serf dying in the fields, the Flemis as a whole feels the death.

The 5th chapter is on House Melanis. They serve as the mad scientists of the Z'Bri. This house has a lot of potential because even the other Z'Bri houses fear them. They do favors for what seems like no reason and let it be known their payments will be in the future(without stating the terms at the present time.) The Baron(the current leader of the Z'Bri) is keeping a close eye on this house. Not only do they have great knowledge and the payments for seemingly random favors, but they are the ones who produce the living tools of the Z'Bri. Much potential here for intrigue.

Chapter 6 deals with the Serfs, Outcasts, the Chained Z'Bri, and the Hunters. The Serfs get much more detail than the poor tortured souls they were portrayed to be in the Rulebook. The Serfs have an actual religion. What makes it even worse is that their religion *makes sense.* The Hunters are a new addition. They are basically Z'Bri who've gone "good." They also do as their name implies: they hunt Z'Bri in order to redeem their race. The Chained Z'Bri are next up and it explains in almost gruesome detail about the painful process of becoming Chained. The Z'Bri basically do this: they take an animal and a Z'Bri and *force* them together. The creatures are binded in both soul and body and the pain is nearly endless. These creatures, while viscious, are also creatures which should be pitied. The suffering they go thru couldn't be imagined by us mere mortals.

Lastly, the 6th chapter covers the Outcasts which live above Vimary. The chapter is pretty good as it tells a story about how a man was able to live in the Skyrealms. It's detailed, but these creatures are almost the same as a regular Z'Bri.

The 7th chapter deals with the rules. It brings up new Aspects of Sundering and Atmosphere effects. It's a lot of rules. Chapter 8 is tips on Weaving the Z'Bri. The advice is on themes you can bring on in your Cycle dealing with the certain Houses. Chapter 9 deals with creatures, such as Symbiots and other things that would be involved with the Z'Bri. It also has some NPC's and equipment the Z'Bri might use. The end of the book has a map of Z'Bri lands and a chart dealing with all the Z'Bri mentioned in any Tribe 8 supplement.

Now, I'd be lying if I didn't say there wasn't anything bad. It's pretty minor quibbles though. The map at the end isn't great and looks pretty plain. It's also missing parts that the book mentions(like, where are the Slaughterfields that House Koleris live in?) You also get some typos in the text and some of the pictures aren't all that great. This supplement is solid. It gives a ton of ideas and makes the Z'Bri seem as more than just cardboard cutout enemies. If you want to Weave a Tribe 8 Cycle, I'd recomend you give this book a look. You won't be wasting your money.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Horrors of the Z'Bri(A Tribe 8 Sourcebook)
Author: Zak Arnston, Joshua Mosqueira Asheim, Hilary Doda, Michael Lee, Andrew Lucas, Jason Prince, Lucien Soulban, Guy-Francis Vella, Marc-Alexandre Vezina, James Wyatt Category: game Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Line: Tribe 8 Cost: near $20 Page count: 128 SKU: DP9-806 Capsule Review by Colin Fisher on 02/17/00. Genre tags: none	When I first heard of Dream Pod 9 I was quite skeptical that their books were some of the best in the industry. I didn't hear of them while I knew all about such companies like Chaosium and ICE. I've read reviews here of the products and figured it was the rantings of a few fanboys. Then one day I was in the local hobby shop when I came upon a cover which caught my eye: It was dark in color and had an orange title with some arcane looking signs. The bottom read "The Past is dead. Your Future begins now." That was when I read the intro of the Tribe 8 rulebook and instantly knew this was the game for me. I went to the clerk, plopped down my $30 and went home as fast as I could to read my new addition to the library. I loved the book. I finished it up in a few hours and soon bought a few more books for Tribe 8. And I liked them a lot too. The setting for this game for those who don't know is of post-apocolyptic earth after a race of spirits come from beyond the Fold(the term for the difference between our world and the spirit world) came forth and imprisoned humanity and did things that would make a cultist of Cthulhu cringe. Anyway, humanity after being in these camps fought back with the help of eight Fatimas(sort of like dieties) and one Fatima was killed and the other seven took the survivors and formed their tribes. The 8th tribe is a bunch of outcasts. That brings me to the race from the spirit world who did this to humanity: the Z'Bri. The other books left them as a mystery, but even then they didn't give them as much character as the Tribes had. Not only that, but I found myself itching my head on why the heck a Serf would stay with such creatures. A Serf is a human who willingly stays in the Z'Bri homelands. With the graphic descriptions of the torture of humanity, it would have to be a good reason as to why Serfs willingly stay with their cruel and heartless masters. I not only found a good amount of info and character about the Z'Bri in this book, but it gives a much better understanding of the Serfs. In fact, the twist on the Serfs is disturbing(I won't divulge it here. It's a pretty big revelation.) So what do you get? You get 128 pages of horrible accounts of the Z'Bri. First, the layout of the book isn't all that bad. Much like the Tribe 8 Rulebook, the setting stuff is told from the first person and NPC's are in sidebars. The cover art is disturbing. It's good, but it makes your imagination go in overdrive. The inside art isn't all that bad either for those who don't mind seeing black and white sketches that look "incomplete." Incomplete is the best word I can think of because the art(much like the text) isn't going to slap you in the face. It's subtle. It leaves a lot of room for interpretation(much like the best horror films/books let your imagination conjure up it's own fears.) Onto the substance itself. The first chapter is an introduction. It covers some of the basic stuff you would think of with the Z'Bri: the Camps, the Closing, the way the Z'Bri were before they crossed the Fold, etc. It's OK, but it's mostly a rehash of what we knew. The second chapter is on House Sangis. The Sangis are a despicable house which uses seduction to experience the Seed. The ideas in it are great. And the imagry the chapter conjures up are some repulsive pictures(such as walking thru a corridor filled with human genitals and being soaked with the secretions.) It also goes into detail about the power plays these creatures are always involved in. Chapter 3 is on the Koleris. The Koleris are the warriors of the Z'Bri. The writing here tells a story about how the Koleris suffer after their lord Tibor was slain by Joshua(refer to the Tribe 8 Rulebook for more info.) This house used to be the top of Z'Bri society but after Tibor's fall, they became basically slaves to the Sangis. These creatures need to kill in order to experience the seed. And after the humans left the Camps, they haven't been able to kill nearly as often as they used to. They are almost as worthy of pity as they are of contempt. The 4th chapter covers House Flemis. This is the best chapter on the houses in my opinion. The reason is because this House is the hardest for most humans to understand. All of us are individuals whereas the Flemis are a hive with no difference in members. It's interesting to see how these creatures think- instead of saying "I", they say "we." When they are paying attention to Serf dying in the fields, the Flemis as a whole feels the death. The 5th chapter is on House Melanis. They serve as the mad scientists of the Z'Bri. This house has a lot of potential because even the other Z'Bri houses fear them. They do favors for what seems like no reason and let it be known their payments will be in the future(without stating the terms at the present time.) The Baron(the current leader of the Z'Bri) is keeping a close eye on this house. Not only do they have great knowledge and the payments for seemingly random favors, but they are the ones who produce the living tools of the Z'Bri. Much potential here for intrigue. Chapter 6 deals with the Serfs, Outcasts, the Chained Z'Bri, and the Hunters. The Serfs get much more detail than the poor tortured souls they were portrayed to be in the Rulebook. The Serfs have an actual religion. What makes it even worse is that their religion makes sense. The Hunters are a new addition. They are basically Z'Bri who've gone "good." They also do as their name implies: they hunt Z'Bri in order to redeem their race. The Chained Z'Bri are next up and it explains in almost gruesome detail about the painful process of becoming Chained. The Z'Bri basically do this: they take an animal and a Z'Bri and force them together. The creatures are binded in both soul and body and the pain is nearly endless. These creatures, while viscious, are also creatures which should be pitied. The suffering they go thru couldn't be imagined by us mere mortals. Lastly, the 6th chapter covers the Outcasts which live above Vimary. The chapter is pretty good as it tells a story about how a man was able to live in the Skyrealms. It's detailed, but these creatures are almost the same as a regular Z'Bri. The 7th chapter deals with the rules. It brings up new Aspects of Sundering and Atmosphere effects. It's a lot of rules. Chapter 8 is tips on Weaving the Z'Bri. The advice is on themes you can bring on in your Cycle dealing with the certain Houses. Chapter 9 deals with creatures, such as Symbiots and other things that would be involved with the Z'Bri. It also has some NPC's and equipment the Z'Bri might use. The end of the book has a map of Z'Bri lands and a chart dealing with all the Z'Bri mentioned in any Tribe 8 supplement. Now, I'd be lying if I didn't say there wasn't anything bad. It's pretty minor quibbles though. The map at the end isn't great and looks pretty plain. It's also missing parts that the book mentions(like, where are the Slaughterfields that House Koleris live in?) You also get some typos in the text and some of the pictures aren't all that great. This supplement is solid. It gives a ton of ideas and makes the Z'Bri seem as more than just cardboard cutout enemies. If you want to Weave a Tribe 8 Cycle, I'd recomend you give this book a look. You won't be wasting your money. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Horrors of the Z'Bri(A Tribe 8 Sourcebook)