I was looking through my RPG stuff and came across this game (Tribe 8) and what appeared to be probably every freakin' supplement published for this game. I really loved the setting - maybe not so much the rules - and it's one of those games I  have vowed to run some day. So, anyone played through the whole published campaign? Anybody else dig this game? Heck, is it even still supported?

Regards,
David R

It was famous for having two distinct sets of fans, those who played it and those who just read it.  A very large number of the fans just bought to read, but never played, I've seen one of the designers posting about it a few times.  I understand he found it a bit heartbreaking.

Second edition was supposed to be more playable, the barrier with first was you had to read all the fluff to understand the setting, which for guys like me who don't enjoy gamer fiction was a real barrier and which made it damn hard to use in play.

And that was what got it to a degree, it was a great read, but in part due to that wasn't so well suited to play.  By the time 2e came out with that balance corrected the world had moved on a bit.

I think it still gets a lot of love online though, if you dig around.

Quote from: BalbinusA very large number of the fans just bought to read, but never played, I've seen one of the designers posting about it a few times.

That'll be me then.  Fantastic setting, but getting it across to the players without having them read half the rulebook would have been dreadful

I think of Tribe 8 as Kult without the cheery optimism and abiding hope.

Google says.

Oh cool! The company's named after a lesbian punk band.  They should have gone the whole hog and called themselves Sleater Kinney games.

Quote from: BalbinusIt was famous for having two distinct sets of fans, those who played it and those who just read it.  A very large number of the fans just bought to read, but never played, I've seen one of the designers posting about it a few times.  I understand he found it a bit heartbreaking.

Damn, I'm in the just read it group . It was a rules thing. The setting was great, the problem was trying to find a system we were comfortable with and suited the game.

But what problems did folks have with the setting? It seemed pretty straight forward or did I miss something?

Regards,
David R

Quote from: David RBut what problems did folks have with the setting? It seemed pretty straight forward or did I miss something?

It's difficult to hang a hook on it, you know?

"It's a post-apocalypse game.  Only the apocalypse was caused by aliens who put you all in death camps, but you were saved by these seven god-type beings who formed you all into these seven tribes - only your not in one of these tribes any more, but you can still call on the power of these gods."

Quote from: David RDamn, I'm in the just read it group . It was a rules thing. The setting was great, the problem was trying to find a system we were comfortable with and suited the game.

  That's such a weird thing to do.  If you want to read sci-fi there's loads of great sci-fi out there to read, why would you want to pay a small fortune to read a poorly written piece of gamer fiction when you have no interest in actually playing the game?

  Christ, I don't even read the gamer fiction when I DO want to play the game.

Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalThat's such a weird thing to do.  If you want to read sci-fi there's loads of great sci-fi out there to read, why would you want to pay a small fortune to read a poorly written piece of gamer fiction when you have no interest in actually playing the game?

  Christ, I don't even read the gamer fiction when I DO want to play the game.

I never understood the impulse myself, even when I indulge in it.  Games are supposed to be played, not read.  Most of them are shitty reads anyway; the good rulebooks are full of rules and maps and shit, the bad ones choked with tenth-grader fiction and eye-melting layout.

Unless you allow your players in on the fun it's like you're saying that you have a Mind Girlfriend who's more perfect than any real girl could ever be.

Mr. A and Fonkaygarry , I liked the setting, but as a group we had a different takes on what rules to use. So, the books were bought with the intention of playing them, not merely reading them. My current group has no real issue with the rules of the first edition as written, so I'd probably just run it as is.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: Hastur T. FannonIt's difficult to hang a hook on it, you know?

"It's a post-apocalypse game.  Only the apocalypse was caused by aliens who put you all in death camps, but you were saved by these seven god-type beings who formed you all into these seven tribes - only your not in one of these tribes any more, but you can still call on the power of these gods."

The message I got was, "The gods got sick of Humanity's fucking around and came down hard on Humanity's ass. The gods are also sadistic bitches and created the seven tribes in order to further screw with Humanity. The tribes are sociological experiments to see how deeply Humanity can be corrupted, and how long Humanity can be made to last before extinction comes."

Tribe 8 is, in other words, the Russian Gulag of RPGs. A game of existential brutality designed to grind the soul into dust. Mankind's only hope is the eighth tribe, and their worst enemies are the other seven.

Isn't Tribe 8 really earnestly GLBT-friendly?

You'll struggle to find someone more GLBT-friendly than me who isn't actually GLBT but I always worry about people who go out of their way to be nice to minorities in fiction.  Always makes me feel like the minorities are being humoured or that it'll be used as an aliby when someone is found floating in their pool with a head caved in by a baseball bat.

Quote from: David RBut what problems did folks have with the setting? It seemed pretty straight forward or did I miss something?

Regards,
David R

Understanding it without reading a huge swathe of fiction.

That was the issue, whenever I wanted to quickly look up a setting detail I couldn't, I had to read a story instead.

Fine for reading, useless as a reference in play.

Balbinus, good point. It has come up too often in my group to ignore.

Mr. A. Do you recall anything specific? I may have missed this particular subtext. I'm thinking of running the game as is, if you get what I mean. It would be a shame, if I had missed anything because of my enthusiam for the game and the campaign got side trecked because my players felt that my presentation of some of the themes was a tad heavy handed.

Regards,
David R