The Inside Scoop on Gaming

After reading a couple of reviews on this site about the Tribe 8 roleplaying game I went to the Dream Pod 9 web site and found some more information on the book. Needless to say, I became very interested and quite excited, for it was sounding as though the game was going to be an extremely good one. I know, I know, when it comes to roleplaying games it's not good to get excited about a supposedly brilliant new game, but I could not help myself and went to my local gaming shop (Valhalla in Perth - plug, plug) with itchy palms and a very nervous stomach. I wanted this game to be good. No, scratch that, I wanted this game to be GREAT.

And it is. I cannot say enough about this game. It's been a good year for new rpgs, and Tribe 8 continues that success. I have never played any other Dream Pod 9 games, and had no idea what to expect. In a simple statement: I was blown away. Everybody talks about the hardcover been the best way to sell an rpg rulebook, but I have a soft spot for the (ahem) softcover. The artwork in Tribe 8 is wonderful, bordering on realism and mystical, sometimes reminding me of the style DiTerlizzi so brilliantly produces.

The first half of the book deals with the world itself, and much of it is presented in excerpts from journals or books of characters in the world itself. Very well, done, with each author having their own unique, distinct voice. It is set in a tribal future, where the characters are attempting to build a new future from the remains of an old one. There are other tribes to consider, as well as monsters ("alien horrors") and numerous other magical powers. Whilst reading the history section, one gets the impression that the characters are going to be involved in a story-arc as the products for this game come out. This could be very interesting, but as long as they remain very flexible, as did the material for Traveller and other various rpgs that have attempted this.

The mechanics? I will not go into them in any great detail, for other reviews of this game have done just that, but suffice to say that it uses d6s and when two or more dice are rolled at the same time, the highest value rolled is the outcome of the die roll. Each extra 6 rolled adds 1 to the total. There are difficulty levels, rangin from Moronic (1) to Pray for Divine Intervention (12+). Magic is based on the Spirit World and the Physical World, and the most common way to interact between the two is through the use of dreams.

This review could never do the Tribe 8 game justice, for there is so much in the book that could never come across in such a short capsule like this one. Nonetheless, Tribe 8 is full of wonderful writing, brilliant detail, and a quick and simple game mechanic that will have people starting the game very quickly. The world background and character creation is sufficient enough to allow the GM to run a fully-fledged Tribe 8 campaign without having to buy another book for this product line.

Highly recommended.

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

Tribe 8
Author: Philippe R Boulle, Stephane Brochu,Joshua Mosqueira Asheim Category: game Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Cost: $49.95 AUD Page count: 208 ISBN: 1-896776-23-X Capsule Review by JD Sivyer on 09/05/98. Genre tags: none	After reading a couple of reviews on this site about the Tribe 8 roleplaying game I went to the Dream Pod 9 web site and found some more information on the book. Needless to say, I became very interested and quite excited, for it was sounding as though the game was going to be an extremely good one. I know, I know, when it comes to roleplaying games it's not good to get excited about a supposedly brilliant new game, but I could not help myself and went to my local gaming shop (Valhalla in Perth - plug, plug) with itchy palms and a very nervous stomach. I wanted this game to be good. No, scratch that, I wanted this game to be GREAT. And it is. I cannot say enough about this game. It's been a good year for new rpgs, and Tribe 8 continues that success. I have never played any other Dream Pod 9 games, and had no idea what to expect. In a simple statement: I was blown away. Everybody talks about the hardcover been the best way to sell an rpg rulebook, but I have a soft spot for the (ahem) softcover. The artwork in Tribe 8 is wonderful, bordering on realism and mystical, sometimes reminding me of the style DiTerlizzi so brilliantly produces. The first half of the book deals with the world itself, and much of it is presented in excerpts from journals or books of characters in the world itself. Very well, done, with each author having their own unique, distinct voice. It is set in a tribal future, where the characters are attempting to build a new future from the remains of an old one. There are other tribes to consider, as well as monsters ("alien horrors") and numerous other magical powers. Whilst reading the history section, one gets the impression that the characters are going to be involved in a story-arc as the products for this game come out. This could be very interesting, but as long as they remain very flexible, as did the material for Traveller and other various rpgs that have attempted this. The mechanics? I will not go into them in any great detail, for other reviews of this game have done just that, but suffice to say that it uses d6s and when two or more dice are rolled at the same time, the highest value rolled is the outcome of the die roll. Each extra 6 rolled adds 1 to the total. There are difficulty levels, rangin from Moronic (1) to Pray for Divine Intervention (12+). Magic is based on the Spirit World and the Physical World, and the most common way to interact between the two is through the use of dreams. This review could never do the Tribe 8 game justice, for there is so much in the book that could never come across in such a short capsule like this one. Nonetheless, Tribe 8 is full of wonderful writing, brilliant detail, and a quick and simple game mechanic that will have people starting the game very quickly. The world background and character creation is sufficient enough to allow the GM to run a fully-fledged Tribe 8 campaign without having to buy another book for this product line. Highly recommended. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)