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I've been a fan of Dream Pod 9's work ever since they were publishing licensed R. Talsorian stuff. I loved their first solo game, Heavy Gear, and I had high hopes for Tribe 8. Fortunately, I was not disappointed.

Even more than DP9's other games, Tribe 8 seems like a self-contained world. Everything seems to fit in, to be a neccesary part of the whole. And yet, one never gets the feeling of sparseness -- the book is detailed, just not overly so.

Tribe 8 is a hard game to classify. Technically, the setting is post-apocalyptic -- it's obvious that it's set in our own world in the future. At the same time, however, it projects the aura of high fantasy. The land of Vimary operates on very different rules than our own, and much of the fun lies in trying to decipher the Vimarian culture.

Indeed, one almost gets the sense that the book is FROM the world it describes, rather than merely being ABOUT it. The entire background section is told "in-character," and it helps a lot in getting a sense of the way the Vimarians talk and think.

The art is, frankly, wonderful. Rather than the anime-esque line drawings in other DP9 products, it seems organic, more like charcoal art than inked diagrams. Even the obligatory faction logos seem cobbled together out of found objects. And the people... well, just buy the book, okay?

I hav only two quibbles. First, the lack of chapter headings (except as sidebars) makes it hard to know where in the book you are.

Second, the game uses yet another cool-sounding euphamism for GM. This time they're called "Weavers." All in all, however, Tribe 8 has it where it counts.

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

Tribe 8 Rulebook
Author: Philippe R. Boulle, Stephane Brochu & Joshua (!) M. Asheim Category: game Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Cost: US$ 29.95 Page count: 208 ISBN: 1-896776-23-X Capsule Review by David Paul on 07/15/98. Genre tags: none	I've been a fan of Dream Pod 9's work ever since they were publishing licensed R. Talsorian stuff. I loved their first solo game, Heavy Gear, and I had high hopes for Tribe 8. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. Even more than DP9's other games, Tribe 8 seems like a self-contained world. Everything seems to fit in, to be a neccesary part of the whole. And yet, one never gets the feeling of sparseness -- the book is detailed, just not overly so. Tribe 8 is a hard game to classify. Technically, the setting is post-apocalyptic -- it's obvious that it's set in our own world in the future. At the same time, however, it projects the aura of high fantasy. The land of Vimary operates on very different rules than our own, and much of the fun lies in trying to decipher the Vimarian culture. Indeed, one almost gets the sense that the book is FROM the world it describes, rather than merely being ABOUT it. The entire background section is told "in-character," and it helps a lot in getting a sense of the way the Vimarians talk and think. The art is, frankly, wonderful. Rather than the anime-esque line drawings in other DP9 products, it seems organic, more like charcoal art than inked diagrams. Even the obligatory faction logos seem cobbled together out of found objects. And the people... well, just buy the book, okay? I hav only two quibbles. First, the lack of chapter headings (except as sidebars) makes it hard to know where in the book you are. Second, the game uses yet another cool-sounding euphamism for GM. This time they're called "Weavers." All in all, however, Tribe 8 has it where it counts. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Tribe 8 Rulebook