The Inside Scoop on Gaming

White Wolf's Splatbook series (the generic name for clan/tribe/kith/etc books) are all possesed of one singular quality: their use varies highly from player to player.

Pretty much everyone recognizes this. It goes without saying that, if you don't play a Tzimisce (or, for that matter, Vampire), buying CB:T will in all likelihood be a huge waste of time.

If you play a particular splat, their book will be exceedingly useful to you. If you're not a Brujah fan, CB:B probably will be of little to no use to you.

The Werewolf TB's are a particular victim of this; a lot of the useful information in them (camps & such) are already available to the players. If you need it for your own use, to fill out your understanding of the group, it can be very helpful.

So, to make a judgement on TB:Uktena I have to take a look at it from the pov of a player who enjoys playing Uktena, or a GM who'll want to expand his use of that tribe in a Werewolf game.

My main problem with TB:U is a personal one; it's the third last Tribebook (counting the upcoming Wendigo & White Howlers tribebooks). I remember walking into my local game-store to pick up Black Furies and enjoying it immensely (I've grown more discriminating since then, but it's still a useful book). I now feel old.

But, yes. Uktena. There's no great shocks here. Nothing on the scale of the surprises and information thrown at us in the Void Engineers SB. The introductory fiction/comic is bearable (although I've yet to grow accustomed to Steve Prescott's art).

The history chapter seems to be a re-tread of already covered terrain, and the society chapter is rather skimpy & feels repetitive of previous material (the camps section is nothing to write home about, although the Raiders seemed rather interesting at first glance). I don't know if I really care to hear what another tribe feels about their Metis, or that they regret the fact their wolf kinfolk are dwindling.

The game info section is the most fun of the sections. There's a neat litle sidebar on playing Uktena/Tremre connections, a couple new abilities (including a lore knowledge that has nothing to do with supernatural creatures, and one that does). There's the usual assortment of gifts and toys (and Roadrunner as a totem! Meep! Meep!). This section has the neat stuff we've been waiting for (although the information on Bane Tenders is too sparse for my tastes).

There's a selection of new gifts (some available to all Uktena, some restricted by camp), which are always fun to see, and a few new fetishes and rites. Another sidebar contains information that would have been good to expand upon (the Uktena and Hedge Magic).

The standard templates (one per auspice) are here. I like these a fair bit, especially the Professional Chief (having dealt with a few of those in my day).

Of course, a player who has Uktena as his favourite tribe will probably find more to enjoy in this supplement than I did. Still, as Splatbooks go, it has enough new and interesting (tm) to make it worth buying.

If you're an Uktena fan, of course.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Tribebook: Uktena
Author: Jackie Cassada & Nicky Rea Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Cost: $10.00 Page count: 72 ISBN: 1-56504-333-2 Capsule Review by Justin Mohareb on 06/23/98. Genre tags: none	White Wolf's Splatbook series (the generic name for clan/tribe/kith/etc books) are all possesed of one singular quality: their use varies highly from player to player. Pretty much everyone recognizes this. It goes without saying that, if you don't play a Tzimisce (or, for that matter, Vampire), buying CB:T will in all likelihood be a huge waste of time. If you play a particular splat, their book will be exceedingly useful to you. If you're not a Brujah fan, CB:B probably will be of little to no use to you. The Werewolf TB's are a particular victim of this; a lot of the useful information in them (camps & such) are already available to the players. If you need it for your own use, to fill out your understanding of the group, it can be very helpful. So, to make a judgement on TB:Uktena I have to take a look at it from the pov of a player who enjoys playing Uktena, or a GM who'll want to expand his use of that tribe in a Werewolf game. My main problem with TB:U is a personal one; it's the third last Tribebook (counting the upcoming Wendigo & White Howlers tribebooks). I remember walking into my local game-store to pick up Black Furies and enjoying it immensely (I've grown more discriminating since then, but it's still a useful book). I now feel old. But, yes. Uktena. There's no great shocks here. Nothing on the scale of the surprises and information thrown at us in the Void Engineers SB. The introductory fiction/comic is bearable (although I've yet to grow accustomed to Steve Prescott's art). The history chapter seems to be a re-tread of already covered terrain, and the society chapter is rather skimpy & feels repetitive of previous material (the camps section is nothing to write home about, although the Raiders seemed rather interesting at first glance). I don't know if I really care to hear what another tribe feels about their Metis, or that they regret the fact their wolf kinfolk are dwindling. The game info section is the most fun of the sections. There's a neat litle sidebar on playing Uktena/Tremre connections, a couple new abilities (including a lore knowledge that has nothing to do with supernatural creatures, and one that does). There's the usual assortment of gifts and toys (and Roadrunner as a totem! Meep! Meep!). This section has the neat stuff we've been waiting for (although the information on Bane Tenders is too sparse for my tastes). There's a selection of new gifts (some available to all Uktena, some restricted by camp), which are always fun to see, and a few new fetishes and rites. Another sidebar contains information that would have been good to expand upon (the Uktena and Hedge Magic). The standard templates (one per auspice) are here. I like these a fair bit, especially the Professional Chief (having dealt with a few of those in my day). Of course, a player who has Uktena as his favourite tribe will probably find more to enjoy in this supplement than I did. Still, as Splatbooks go, it has enough new and interesting (tm) to make it worth buying. If you're an Uktena fan, of course. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)

Tribebook: Uktena