Tribe 8 is a fantasy/post-apocalypse role-playing game designed by Philippe R. Boulle, Stéphane Brochu and Joshua Mosqueira-Asheim with visuals by Ghislain Barbe. It was first released in 1998 by Canadian publisher Dream Pod 9 as a departure from their mostly mecha line of hard science fiction games.
Publication history
The third game released by Dream Pod 9 was a new approach for the company, the post-apocalyptic fantasy game Tribe 8 (1998) by Phil Boulle, Josh Mosqueira and Stéphane Brochu. Following the release of Tribe 8, Dream Pod 9 focused most of their new role-playing game production on this new line, making Tribe 8 the top selling RPG for the company from 1999-2001. Tribe 8 second edition was later released in 2004.
Setting
Tribe 8 is a near future game in which the player characters are exiles from their tribes looking to form an eighth tribe based on their fables, while they deal with warring factions and a world invaded by creatures from beyond the River of Dream.
Player characters typically take on the role of the Fallen, outcasts from the Tribes who live on the exile island of Hom (present day Île Sainte-Hélène). Although many of the Fallen truly are criminal, many have also been cast out from the Tribes due to their inability to deal with the unjust society that the Fatimas have built. They are heretics, warriors, dreamers, and leaders who hope to build something even when society has abandoned them.
Publications
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!width="25%"| Title
!width="35%"| Author(s)
!width="10%"| Date
!width="10%"| Pages
!width="20%" style="text-align:center" | ISBN
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| Tribe 8: Rulebook
| style="text-align:center" | Philippe R. Boulle, Stéphane Brochu, Joshua Mosqueira-Asheim
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 208
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Weaver's Screen and Assistant
| style="text-align:center" | Philippe R. Boulle, Michael Butler, Joshua Mosqueira-Asheim, Jean Carrières
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 48
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Vimary Sourcebook
| style="text-align:center" | Joshua Mosqueira Asheim, Lucien Soulban
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 144
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Tribe 8: Companion
| style="text-align:center" | Phil Anderson
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 112
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Horrors of the Z'Bri
| style="text-align:center" | Zak Arntson
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 128
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Into the Outlands
| style="text-align:center" | Guy-Francis Vella
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 96
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Word of the Pillars
| style="text-align:center" | Michael Butler, Edwyn Kumar
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 80
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Word from the North
| style="text-align:center" | Edwyn Kumar
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 62
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Children of Lilith
| style="text-align:center" | Jim Cotsios, Jason P. Prince
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 96
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Trial by Fire
| style="text-align:center" | Jon Dawes, Edwyn Kumar
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 112
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
|Word of the Fates
| style="text-align:center" | Christopher J. Gunning, David M. Jacobs, Jason P. Prince
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 128
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Warrior Unbound
| style="text-align:center" | Christopher J. Gunning
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 96
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Broken Pact
| style="text-align:center" | Jason P. Prince
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 96
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Vimary Burns
| style="text-align:center" | Conan D. T. McKegg
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 64
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Adrift on the River of Dream
| style="text-align:center" | Joshua Bishop-Roby, Lisa A. Nichols, Bradley "Brand" Robins
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 144
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Revanche
| style="text-align:center" | Laura Bishop, Lisa A. Nichols, Bradley "Brand" Robins, Joshua Roby, Moyra Turkington
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 64
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Liberation
| style="text-align:center" | Joshua Bishop-Roby, Laura Bishop-Roby, Hilary Doda, Lisa A. Nichols, Bradley "Brand" Robins, Moyra Turkington, Gary Winchester
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 112
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
|Harvest of Thorns
| style="text-align:center" | Lisa A Nicols, Bradley Robins
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 64
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Word of the Dancers
| style="text-align:center" | Laura Bishop-Roby, Bradley Robins, Moyra Turkington
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 96
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Tribe 8 Player's Handbook
| style="text-align:center" | Marc A. Vezina
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 128
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Capal Book of Days
| style="text-align:center" | Joshua Bishop-Roby, Laura Bishop-Roby, Hilary Doda, Lisa A. Nichols, Jason P. Prince, Bradley "Brand" Robins, Moyra Turkington
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 112
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| Tribe 8 RPG 2nd Edition Players Handbook
| style="text-align:center" | Bob Woods
| style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center" | 256
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
|}
Rule system
Tribe 8 uses Dream Pod 9's own Silhouette game engine. The latest edition of the Silhouette rules is sold separately as a book titled Silhouette CORE Rulebook, which is needed to play the second edition of the Tribe 8 roleplaying game (the first edition rulebook included its own version of Silhouette).
Silhouette is a realistic, simulationist system that defines characters in terms of 10 base attributes (agility, knowledge, etc.), 5 derived attributes (health, etc.), and a variety of skills. Skill rolls make up the backbone of the system, which focuses on effect-based speed of play over grainy detail. The core mechanic involves rolling a number of 6-sided dice, taking the highest result and comparing it to a set threshold number. If the result is higher than the threshold the test is a success; if it is lower the test is a failure. The margin by which the test succeeded (Margin of Success, MoS) or failed (Margin of Failure, MoF) helps to determine the final outcome. Combat is handled by the same system, with characters taking penalty-inflicting wounds rather than depleting a set number of health points. As a result, the system can be lethal, especially on inexperienced characters.
Tribe 8s rules were characteristic for their introduction of magic, which was totally absent of any other Dream Pod 9 game setting.
Reception
According to Shannon Appelcline: "The game was very well received for its combination of evocative setting, interesting metastory and non-linear play. The simplicity of the Silhouette system also continued to be lauded. [...] Some of the sourcebooks were quite well received, such as the Vimary Sourcebook (1998), which provided a description of post-apocalyptic Montreal and is recognised as one of the industry’s top-rated setting books."
References
External links
- Blood and Sacrifice
- Ghislain Barbe (Lead Conceptual Artist)