The Splintering 3450-3641

SETTING
Tribes Vengeance's Single Player campaign takes place during the turbulent period of Tribal history known as The Splintering. It is during this time that many of the smaller, independent Tribes that proliferate throughout the Wilderzone in the latter days of Tribal history first come into being. The conflict that rages between the Blood Eagle, who have only recently declared themselves a Tribe in their own right, and the Children of Phoenix results in the genesis of many splinter groups and rival independent factions, forming what will one day become the complex socio-political web of intrigue that is present in the Wilderzone of the 3900s.

Situated in the first half of the 36th Century, Tribes Vengeance follows the story of Julia, daughter of Princess Victoria, and heiress to the Imperial Throne. Though little in the way of actual details regarding the plot are known we can make some educated guesses based on officially revealed information and details gleaned from the prototype which was used as a basis for the creation of the current Single Player experience.

CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW
We know that the campaign is designed to span a twenty year period, covering events in the lives of both mother and daughter, and that through the course of the experience the player will take on the roles of five or six different characters, each of whom has a different perspective on the events taking place and different motivations driving their actions. You will be able to play as both Julia and her mother, as the secretive assassin Mercury, and as at least two different leaders of the Children of Phoenix Tribe, General Jericho and Daniel.

To date only three missions have been revealed. One is an Arena mission in which you play Daniel and run a gauntlet of Imperial challengers in an attempt to win an audience with the Emperor (or possibly the Empress.) Another is an interior mission where Julia infiltrates a Phoenix stronghold for unknown purposes, and the third, which was on demo at E3 and we hope to have more details from shortly, in which as an Imperial (possibly Julia) you assault the exterior of a Phoenix installation.

There is also a cinematic style trailer available that displays some brief dialogue and brief snippets of a few single player levels and cutscenes. (14.9 MB WMV [Vivendi FTP] [TRP\\SSU Mirror])

PLOT SPECULATION
As to the course of the plot, although it is purely speculative, my best guess is that the story revolves around a desperate gambit by the Children of Phoenix leader Daniel to stave of the economic collapse of his Tribe by kidnapping the Emperor. What his specific plan is to exploit this to his advantage I'm at a loss to explain just yet, but the data we've seen so far regarding his daring gauntlet-run to win audience with Tiberius and Julia's missions deep into CoP territory seem to point in the direction of a hostage-rescue situation that sets Julia on a collision course with the charismatic Phoenix leader.

This plot will likely be complicated by the fact that in her childhood Julia was witness to the assassination (or possibly attempted assassination) of her parents, when she was a child. I believe that the Phoenix were probably blamed for this act of espionage, and the capture of Tiberius likely deepens the perception of their guilt in the eyes of the Empire at large. The constant Phoenix-Blood Eagle conflict serves as a backdrop to all of this, and I suspect that before the story is through it will have emerged that the assassin from Julia's youth, Mercury, was actually acting as an agent of the Blood Eagle, and that Julia will actually find herself somewhat enamoured of her grandfather's captors and learn to respect them even if she does not like them.

FURTHER STUDY
You can find more details regarding the Tribes Vengeance Single Player campaign, including linked references to original source materials, in our T:V Single Player Fact Sheet, and we will of course update both it, and this overview, as new information regarding the game emerges.