Outlook Society

Our hands joined, a physical connectiveness, I let my mind slip around the circle. I don’t like talking, but I feel a humongous pressure to say something. I focus on that feeling, on the nervousness within me, and I decide I should probably at least announce the obvious. “I want my horns to work” I say, and suddenly I feel embarrassed. But we’re still holding hands in a circle, and all of us are together, so it hasn’t gone wrong yet.

It feels like an hour before Josiah says “I want his horns to work too”, before grinning in that utterly easy way he has, as if he didn’t sound as weird as I did. Alpha and Nasha just stay still, focusing on the connection. Nasha smiles a little, and then I feel it in full force.

Community, togetherness, belief, change, the cycle. Energy dances and runs through me as I stand there, and my forehead tingles as I feel it slipping into the horns.

Part of a series about the people of Outlook.

Summary

The Outlook is a place of much natural beauty, and thriving wilderness, colonized by groups of humanity who survived the ‘End of the World’. With a relatively low population for its size, as well as an abundance of natural resources, there is little resource scarcity. Due to this, it is a very peaceful place, and the main disputes are petty family rivalries; though these can simmer for generations, and cause an amount of bloodshed not in keeping with the perceived insult. Bodyguards have little call for their trade, except for protection of the more lightly armoured who explore some of the lesser known areas, where creatures and bandits roam. Despite this, martial skills are relatively commonly practiced- there is always the risk of being attacked by creatures that have moved beyond their usual hunting ground. Moreover, sometimes the tribes band together against threats from the outside, and it is thus necessary for at least a few to pass on fighting techniques.

Mutations in The Outlook

People are born either Dead-Strain or Gene-Strain. Gene-Strains have mutations, and are able to shape those mutations in directions positive for their survival. Dead-Strains look much more like those from the World Before, and can interface much better with AI. Two Dead-Strain parents will invariably have a Dead-Strain child; however, this is the only common way that Dead-Strains are parented. If at least one parent is a Gene-Strain, the child will almost always also be a Gene-Strain. There is little outright rivalry between the groups, but each Tribe has a different mix of both strains, and different attitudes based on their composition.

Tribes and The Outlook

One of the most important things is that everyone in the Outlook belongs to, or has recently belonged to, a Tribe. This may not be the Tribe that they were born into, or a very large Tribe. Communal living has been seen as a large advantage for the people of the Outlook, and regularly comes down to long term family groups. From the larger tribes, like the Mutati, there are often break outs and new groups that form when a family decide they want to strike out on their own.

Tribes are something we would love for players to come up with on their own. However, there are some pre-defined tribes, and we are happy to talk through ideas with you. All the information needed can be found in here

Law in The Outlook

The combined Tribes have no leadership, no formal inter-tribal interactions, and wildly varying viewpoints on most topics. Consequently, there is no body of law or protocols that would tie them all together. Members of the Outlook have significant leeway in how they deal with matters of law.

Internally, the Tribes are bound by ideology and blood, and they treasure their peace. The individual leaders of Tribes will resolve disputes within a given Tribe.

It is possible that the players end up defining law in play. It is also possible that some NPCs or a faction might attempt to impose one. We believe, but may be wrong, that there will be a de-facto “law” that keeps a status quo that is agreeable to the characters without much ref involvement. If it comes to a point where the enforcement of law is controlled by domineering (N)PCs in a way that isn’t fun for anyone else, then we will include means to redress this balance.

AIs and The Outlook

You will have been likely to have met AIs in your time- very few of them will have been highly competent, most repeating the same class of actions ad infinitum. They are instantly recognizable by a symbol or marking on their forehead- although they may additionally have symbols or markings elsewhere. A few of the more competent AIs have groups that they lead, or at least act as advisors to. More complex AIs are often worshipped, or at least treated with wary respect. It is your choice how to define the various AIs you have interacted with, but be aware that there will be groups that will brook little disrespect of their patrons. AIs can be summoned with relative ease if you have made contact with them before, and provide them a medium in which to manifest. This should be some form of technological device- though it can be stored in any sort of appropriate phys-rep (There will be some available for new players, if they want them).

Some people house AIs in their ka, if they wish to draw on the skills of a particular AI. They may have some odd personality quirks related to the AI they are handling. This is regarded as entirely normal, a natural consequence of communion with a different class of intelligence.

Literacy in The Outlook

There is a shared writing system in The Outlook, that the Tribes have roughly come together and agreed on. Whilst some people may have their own individual codes, it is usually possible to understand anything that is written. The exception to this is Citadel script, which is the language of the World Before, which is a reversed version of modern writing. We will provide mirrors next to any documents that are written in Citadel Script. You need to have skills to read and write Citadel script.