Citadel - User contributions [en]

Psionic Powers

2018-11-11T23:05:06Z

Cryptophage: /* Warping Pathway */ ENTAGLE -> ENTANGLE

{{Categories|Psionics}}

Note- Unless otherwise stated, all Communion results are their 'Base' power level, and may become more powerful with additional resources expended in them.

=== Universal ===

''Powers denoted by an asterisk (*) need a separate skill to learn''

{|
!Name
|Type
|Focus Cost
|Effect
|-
!Detect Nature
|Basic Power
|1
|Spend 5s interaction with target to call DETECT NATURE
|-
!Detect Strain
|Basic Power
|1 *
|Spend 5s interaction with target to call DETECT STRAIN'''
|}

=== Shaping Pathway ===

{|
!Name
|Type
|Focus Cost
|Effect
|-
!Disbalance
|Basic Power
|1
|Call STRIKEDOWN on two different targets
|-
!Expel
|Basic Power
|1
|Call REPEL on one target
|-
!Wound Coil
|Basic Communion
|
|(PROVISIONAL) Participants may make one call of REPEL by blow following the Communion
|-
!Coax Mutation
|Basic Communion
|
|Participants gain a random mutation
|-
!Natural Armour
|Basic Communion
|
|Participants gain extra three temporary body hits that may not be healed
|-
!Liberation
|Advanced Power
|1
|Call WIDE REPEL'''
|-
!Rearrange
|Advanced Power
|3
|Call CRUSH
|-
!Stoic Suppression
|Advanced Communion
|
|(PROVISIONAL) Each participant may suppress acute effects of one wound until the end of day
|-
!Controlled Evolution
|Advanced Communion
|
|Alters an existing mutation
|-
!Forced Adaptation
|Advanced Communion
|
|Causes an advanced mutation
|}

=== Melding Pathway ===
{|
!Name
|Type
|Focus Cost
|Effect
|-
!Feign Emotion
|Basic Power
|2
|Call BASIC EFFECT: <EMOTION>. The available emotions are: ANGER, GRIEF, JOY, FEAR, HATE, VIGILANCE, ADMIRATION, PRIDE, CALM, HOPE, DESPAIR.
|-
!Overwhelm
|Basic Power
|1
|Call ENTANGLE
|-
!Sending
|Basic Communion
|
|(PROVISIONAL) Sends a short sentence to a known target
|-
!Calm Mind
|Basic Communion
|
|Suppress ongoing roleplaying effects on a single person
|-
!Intuit Purpose
|Basic Communion
|
|Expose participants to an effect, learning about the effect in the process
|-
!Open Your Mind
|Advanced Communion
|
|Learn about your surroundings and learn about upcoming encounter.
|-
!Dominate Other
|Advanced Power
|2
|You may call "WOULD YOU KINDLY" while out of combat
|-
!Overwhelming Presence
|Advanced Power
|2
|Call WIDE ENTANGLE or MASS ENTANGLE
|-
!Manifest Intent
|Advanced Communion
|
|Allows the participants to state a goal and subsequently call RESIST on one WOULD YOU KINDLY or EFFECT call that would interfere with their stated goal.
|-
!Fell Together
|Advanced Communion
|
|(PROVISIONAL) Transfer an effect onto one of the participants reducing the effect strength.
|}

=== Warping Pathway ===

{|
!Name
|Type
|Focus Cost
|Effect
|-
!Mend
|Basic Power
|1
|Call CURE 3
|-
!Rend
|Basic Power
|2
|Call TRIPLE
|-
!The One Is Strong
|Basic Communion
|
|Gain a number of uses of DOUBLE STRIKEDOWN at range as long as they do not move.
|-
!The Many Swarm
|Basic Communion
|
|Participants can RESIST one STRIKEDOWN or ENTANGLE call. They still take the implicit SINGLE if delivered by a weapon strike.
|-
!Reprocess
|Basic Communion
|
|Transforms two food into one reagent or two reagents into one food.
|-
!Rending Wave
|Advanced Power
|3
|Call MASS TRIPLE
|-
!Knit Bone
|Advanced Power
|1
|Call RESTORE LIMB at touch range
|-
!Mending Field
|Advanced Power
|2
|Call MASS CURE 3
|-
!Resurgent Flesh
|Advanced Communion
|
|Participants gain "BASIC EFFECT: Once per encounter while not dying you may spend 10s of loud, uninterrupted, stationary roleplay to call CURE ALL on self.
|-
!Metal Buckles
|Advanced Communion
|
|You may transform tokens into scrap and scrap into ''broken'' tokens. The conversion rate is not clear.
|}

Sample Advanced AIs

2018-10-14T11:41:27Z

Cryptophage: /* Teddybear */

{{Categories|Technology}}

===Character creation and Advanced AIs===
If you define an Advanced AI, with ref approval, you may describe if it is currently partially housed in any subject’s ka. Advanced AI always have the same class of effect when housed. If you wish to fully house house an Advanced AI, then this is something to mention when creating your character, and should form part of their arc.

===Known AIs===

====The Diamond====
{{IC|I wish no more to be troubled by the petty complaints of you who were born from dust and shall return to it. We walk in the tombs of giants, and you would tear each other apart over the dust from their burial shroud. You will obey or be cast out- there are no other options.}}

The Diamond is an AI that resides in quite a battered, handmade looking housing - though few other than its closest confidants have ever seen it this close. It detests being handled, and prefers to be hidden under layers of other machinery. It often appears dressed in smart clothes that hide its figure.

It is the de facto leader of the Diamond Tribe, as they defer to it in all things. However, in recent years it has been becoming more despondent, slower to come to decisions, and more prone to melancholy. This has changed with the opening of the Citadel, however. It has become more active and demanding- especially in sending out people to investigate. Woe betide those who refuse a command, when it is in this state.

Costs- The Diamond is focused on things that will benefit The Diamond Tribe- that being resources, mostly in the form of food. It is one of the few AIs with little time for tokens, other than to use for other AI. It prefers a regular tribute of food, for example for housing an element of itself in your Ka paying a ration of food a week.

====That Which is Freely Given====

{{IC|What a fascinating specimen! While I have 273 in my memory banks with a similar form and shape, the colouring in that one is unique, with only 3 shared types I can record. Yes, I can indeed give you what you want for that, even with your filthy mutation. Money knows no discrimination, after all.}}

That Which is Freely Given is an advanced AI that is focused on bartering. It travels between Tribes, its black box carried around by a robotic servant on a purple cushion. Some have attempted to capture the box… and discovered that its robotic counterpart is not just there for show. It is affable and chatty, whilst at the same time saying horrifically unpleasant things in a smiley and even tone. Whether this is a trait it always possessed, or one it developed, is unknown.

That Which is Freely Given appears as an androgynous figure, visually unblemished and with a sort of old world glamour around it. It wears a lot of hologram jewellery, and people have sworn they can smell beautiful flowers when it walks by.

It is a bargainer by nature- trading mostly in physical items such as animals. It detests rumours, and says so vehemently- the only information it barters in is cold, hard data.

A sample deal will usually involve a rare animal corpse, or an old AI casing. It favours the most exotic, and isn’t afraid to say if something has disappointed it. It gives away the ability to analyse things, as well as help with EXACT information- the number of troops in a raiding force, the fauna of a particular environment, the properties of an elixir. Items given are taken by the servitor- it has been known to drag huge corpses over miles, presumably to the location the AI calls home.

====Melody====

{{IC|Yes, yes I do recall those days. I loved when you were happy and free across the whole world. To see you like this is almost too much to bear, a burden I find so difficult to face. Perhaps that is the fate of this world to fall slowly… But you are right, I have left you like this for far too long. Let me ease your suffering, if you would let me.}}

Melody is what happens when an AI with a limited function is kept far longer than its original programming dictates, and melds with other AIs in order to maintain its current status. It has been known to be revered as a Deity of Healing by some Tribes, its skills in medicines without peer. At the same time, it is clearly slightly malfunctioning; it often talks far more than it should, about long stories of days gone by that make little sense, as well as having to be repeatedly returned to the subject at hand. Often that subject is someone bleeding to death.

Melody often appears in the form of a person of unthreatening size and stature, with a gentle voice. However, due to the number of programmes that make up its core nature, this can vary dramatically. The only constant is the gentle tone of voice. Its black box is a frankenstein’s mess of various boxes, which it has been known to move and carry around when it needs to go somewhere; something it often does, wandering off in response to a decade old command that has suddenly returned to the top of its consciousness.

A sample deal will usually involve tokens - Melody provides healing on the cheap. It often deals via sub-programmes, generally Cleaners; people have had some very weird programmes in their Ka after dealing Melody. Those who mistrust AI are often especially wary of it.

==== Teddybear ====
{{IC|Come children, gather around and let me tell you a story ...}}

Teddybear is a spiritual leader of the [[Tribe/Teddybear's Listeners|Teddybear's Listeners]] tribe. They take their name from when they used to read fairy tales to children, in a library before the Decline (although the Listeners themselves are likely not familiar with the concept of a teddy bear), and prefer to manifest as a life size teddy bear. Their black box is said to be hidden inside a fake book in the archives of the tribe. Teddybear values stories most of all, whether that be telling stories, listening to and finding out the stories of others, creating stories or having adventures about which stories may be told. They also encourage the keeping of meticulous records, and love archives and objects with history.

Over time, their grasp of the boundary between fiction and reality has been slipping somewhat. More recently, they have been regarding some tales as prophecies, and demanding that the prophecies be fulfilled. Some have heard murmurs of a ''great prophecy'', which Teddybear believes the Citadel is key to, but they remain uncharacteristically secretive about this. This, along with the history surely contained within, has compelled the Listeners to explore the Citadel.

Teddybear does not like to be bothered with mundane matters regarding the governance of the tribe. However they do preside over the Storytime - an important weekly event that all members of the tribe, barring important duties elsewhere, are expected to attend - and to tell Teddybear their best stories and seek spiritual guidance.

==== The Wanderer ====

{{IC|Would you able to offer a little space to an old, weary traveller}}

Nobody is quite sure where the Wanderer is originally housed, although it propagates itself a lot and fragments of it can be found uploaded to all sorts of places. It approaches people seemingly at random (dead strain, obviously), sometimes through automata, sometimes through people who already have a fragment of it somewhere on their Ka, sometimes through other more mysterious means, and it asks them the following question: “Would you be able to offer a little space to an old, weary traveller?”. The phrasing is always very similar, and if the offer is accepted The Wanderer uploads a little of itself into that person’s Ka too.

Outwardly, the Wanderer appears to do almost nothing, there have been no recorded (well, no verified recorded) incidents of anything bad ever happening to anyone housing a fragment of The Wanderer, and in fact some people consider it good luck to do so, and it appears at least to be harmless.

The Wanderer itself has somewhat lost its purpose. It originally was tasked simply with gathering information via any means possible, and then communicating it back along with a series of judgements and comments to some now forgotten master. But the Wanderer is old. Very old. It may even predate the Citadels although it does not accurately track time so even it doesn’t know for sure. Whatever it used to report to, it doesn’t or can’t any more. Instead it has spent the intervening however many hundred years simply asking people for a little space and then observing, waiting patiently, trying to find an agenda for itself. With the Citadel opening the Wanderer has started to become a little more active now, more people than ever are getting asked the Wanderer’s question, anyway.

Sample Advanced AIs

2018-10-14T11:41:09Z

Cryptophage: /* Teddybear */

{{Categories|Technology}}

===Character creation and Advanced AIs===
If you define an Advanced AI, with ref approval, you may describe if it is currently partially housed in any subject’s ka. Advanced AI always have the same class of effect when housed. If you wish to fully house house an Advanced AI, then this is something to mention when creating your character, and should form part of their arc.

===Known AIs===

====The Diamond====
{{IC|I wish no more to be troubled by the petty complaints of you who were born from dust and shall return to it. We walk in the tombs of giants, and you would tear each other apart over the dust from their burial shroud. You will obey or be cast out- there are no other options.}}

The Diamond is an AI that resides in quite a battered, handmade looking housing - though few other than its closest confidants have ever seen it this close. It detests being handled, and prefers to be hidden under layers of other machinery. It often appears dressed in smart clothes that hide its figure.

It is the de facto leader of the Diamond Tribe, as they defer to it in all things. However, in recent years it has been becoming more despondent, slower to come to decisions, and more prone to melancholy. This has changed with the opening of the Citadel, however. It has become more active and demanding- especially in sending out people to investigate. Woe betide those who refuse a command, when it is in this state.

Costs- The Diamond is focused on things that will benefit The Diamond Tribe- that being resources, mostly in the form of food. It is one of the few AIs with little time for tokens, other than to use for other AI. It prefers a regular tribute of food, for example for housing an element of itself in your Ka paying a ration of food a week.

====That Which is Freely Given====

{{IC|What a fascinating specimen! While I have 273 in my memory banks with a similar form and shape, the colouring in that one is unique, with only 3 shared types I can record. Yes, I can indeed give you what you want for that, even with your filthy mutation. Money knows no discrimination, after all.}}

That Which is Freely Given is an advanced AI that is focused on bartering. It travels between Tribes, its black box carried around by a robotic servant on a purple cushion. Some have attempted to capture the box… and discovered that its robotic counterpart is not just there for show. It is affable and chatty, whilst at the same time saying horrifically unpleasant things in a smiley and even tone. Whether this is a trait it always possessed, or one it developed, is unknown.

That Which is Freely Given appears as an androgynous figure, visually unblemished and with a sort of old world glamour around it. It wears a lot of hologram jewellery, and people have sworn they can smell beautiful flowers when it walks by.

It is a bargainer by nature- trading mostly in physical items such as animals. It detests rumours, and says so vehemently- the only information it barters in is cold, hard data.

A sample deal will usually involve a rare animal corpse, or an old AI casing. It favours the most exotic, and isn’t afraid to say if something has disappointed it. It gives away the ability to analyse things, as well as help with EXACT information- the number of troops in a raiding force, the fauna of a particular environment, the properties of an elixir. Items given are taken by the servitor- it has been known to drag huge corpses over miles, presumably to the location the AI calls home.

====Melody====

{{IC|Yes, yes I do recall those days. I loved when you were happy and free across the whole world. To see you like this is almost too much to bear, a burden I find so difficult to face. Perhaps that is the fate of this world to fall slowly… But you are right, I have left you like this for far too long. Let me ease your suffering, if you would let me.}}

Melody is what happens when an AI with a limited function is kept far longer than its original programming dictates, and melds with other AIs in order to maintain its current status. It has been known to be revered as a Deity of Healing by some Tribes, its skills in medicines without peer. At the same time, it is clearly slightly malfunctioning; it often talks far more than it should, about long stories of days gone by that make little sense, as well as having to be repeatedly returned to the subject at hand. Often that subject is someone bleeding to death.

Melody often appears in the form of a person of unthreatening size and stature, with a gentle voice. However, due to the number of programmes that make up its core nature, this can vary dramatically. The only constant is the gentle tone of voice. Its black box is a frankenstein’s mess of various boxes, which it has been known to move and carry around when it needs to go somewhere; something it often does, wandering off in response to a decade old command that has suddenly returned to the top of its consciousness.

A sample deal will usually involve tokens - Melody provides healing on the cheap. It often deals via sub-programmes, generally Cleaners; people have had some very weird programmes in their Ka after dealing Melody. Those who mistrust AI are often especially wary of it.

==== Teddybear ====
{{IC|Come children, gather around and let me tell you a story ...}}

Teddybear is a spiritual leader of the [[Tribe/Teddybear's Listeners|Teddybear Listeners]] tribe. They take their name from when they used to read fairy tales to children, in a library before the Decline (although the Listeners themselves are likely not familiar with the concept of a teddy bear), and prefer to manifest as a life size teddy bear. Their black box is said to be hidden inside a fake book in the archives of the tribe. Teddybear values stories most of all, whether that be telling stories, listening to and finding out the stories of others, creating stories or having adventures about which stories may be told. They also encourage the keeping of meticulous records, and love archives and objects with history.

Over time, their grasp of the boundary between fiction and reality has been slipping somewhat. More recently, they have been regarding some tales as prophecies, and demanding that the prophecies be fulfilled. Some have heard murmurs of a ''great prophecy'', which Teddybear believes the Citadel is key to, but they remain uncharacteristically secretive about this. This, along with the history surely contained within, has compelled the Listeners to explore the Citadel.

Teddybear does not like to be bothered with mundane matters regarding the governance of the tribe. However they do preside over the Storytime - an important weekly event that all members of the tribe, barring important duties elsewhere, are expected to attend - and to tell Teddybear their best stories and seek spiritual guidance.

==== The Wanderer ====

{{IC|Would you able to offer a little space to an old, weary traveller}}

Nobody is quite sure where the Wanderer is originally housed, although it propagates itself a lot and fragments of it can be found uploaded to all sorts of places. It approaches people seemingly at random (dead strain, obviously), sometimes through automata, sometimes through people who already have a fragment of it somewhere on their Ka, sometimes through other more mysterious means, and it asks them the following question: “Would you be able to offer a little space to an old, weary traveller?”. The phrasing is always very similar, and if the offer is accepted The Wanderer uploads a little of itself into that person’s Ka too.

Outwardly, the Wanderer appears to do almost nothing, there have been no recorded (well, no verified recorded) incidents of anything bad ever happening to anyone housing a fragment of The Wanderer, and in fact some people consider it good luck to do so, and it appears at least to be harmless.

The Wanderer itself has somewhat lost its purpose. It originally was tasked simply with gathering information via any means possible, and then communicating it back along with a series of judgements and comments to some now forgotten master. But the Wanderer is old. Very old. It may even predate the Citadels although it does not accurately track time so even it doesn’t know for sure. Whatever it used to report to, it doesn’t or can’t any more. Instead it has spent the intervening however many hundred years simply asking people for a little space and then observing, waiting patiently, trying to find an agenda for itself. With the Citadel opening the Wanderer has started to become a little more active now, more people than ever are getting asked the Wanderer’s question, anyway.

Tribe/Teddybear's Listeners

2018-10-03T13:26:26Z

Cryptophage: Adding myself as contact

* '''Dead-strains are the heroes, gene-strains are the stage hands'''
* '''There is wisdom and immortality in stories, not necessarily accurate facts'''
* '''Individual and small group travel is common'''
Traders of stories, with an entrenched and oppressive strain-based caste system, led by a fairy tale obsessed AI, [[Sample_Advanced_AIs#Teddybear|Teddybear]]

===Things to Know===
{{Categories|Tribes}}

* '''Know Your Place''' Strain is all important in Listener society, and can dictate even the minutiae of social interactions. You are always aware of the strains of those around you.
* '''Whoever said it had to be accurate?''' Listeners often employ creative license in the retelling of stories. However ''blatant lies'' are out of scope.

==== Humans ====
* '''Do The Thing''' Even if it goes badly, it will make for a much better story afterwards than if you do not act and forever regret it.
* '''Live to tell the tale''' Don’t throw your life away for nothing and cut your Story short. Sacrificing yourself to save others? Awesome. Getting drunk and dying in a barehanded wrestling match with an Oddy? Not so much.

==== Fay ====
* '''All in all, you’re just another brick in the wall''' As an individual, you don’t matter. But make no mistake, the fay are the backbone of Listener society, and you don’t need to remove that many bricks from a wall for it to all come tumbling down.

=== Things to avoid ===
* '''Overly blatant and immersion breaking OOC fairy tale references''' There is a fairly clear inspiration to this tribe. However, references to specific fairy tales, pop-culture references and other behaviour that might be immersion breaking for other players is discouraged. Ideally specific fairy tale inspiration should be oblique and subtle and make other players feel clever if they figure it out.

* '''Slavery''' The Listeners have a deeply hierarchical society, but the gene-strains are in no way enslaved, and slavery is not a theme of the Citadel LRP. The gene-strains of the tribe are technically free to leave and join another tribe - what usually keeps them around is religious and cultural identity - most deeply believe in their religion and their role in society, and do not want to leave their friends and family, or face the disapproval that can come with leaving. However, some do leave, and still more are not completely happy with the status quo.

* '''OOC based discrimination''' The tribe draws inspiration from fairy tales, and in the real world many such stories are deeply laden with gender roles, heteronormativity, and other regressive attitudes, so care must be taken when using these for inspiration. A story about a dragon capturing specifically princesses who are then rescued by dashing princes would be out of place, for instance, since Citadel is a gender-neutral setting. More generally, discrimination on the basis of characteristics such as gender, LGBT+ status, race, or disability, whether IC or OOC is against the rules both of the Citadel LRP and of CLS. Themes of discrimination should be kept to strain alone.

===Formation===
{{Categories|Tribes}}

Teddybear used to be the librarian of the legend and folklore section of a large library in the pre-Decline world, and was also charged with reading fairytales to children. In the gene-strains, Teddybear saw the fairytale creatures of old, and concluded that the they were created to act as supporting characters for the dead-strains, who are the protagonists of this world. Out of this grew the tribe’s pervasive social stratification, which sees the gene-strains (known as ‘fay’ within the tribe) subordinate to the dead-strains (‘humans’). In general, the Listeners value storytelling, history, and dramatic deeds about which tales are told.

===Leadership===

The spiritual leader of the tribe, who is seen as somewhat akin to a prophet, is an Advanced AI called [[Sample_Advanced_AIs#Teddybear|Teddybear]].

Non-religious governance is provided by the Reading Circle, a group of the eldest and most respected Humans of the tribe. Important decisions, when too mundane to concern Teddybear, are decided by the Circle. Every year, the Circle elects a Reader, who acts as something of a leader to the tribe.

===Reputation===

Teddybear's Listeners are a peaceful tribe and reputation is important in Listener society - the tribe makes a point of treating other tribes with hospitality. Members of the tribe visit other tribes often to trade stories. This is not to say other tribes necessarily approve of the Listener’s values. Indeed, listener gene-strains treat dead-strains in other tribes with just as much deference as those in their own tribe, which can cause awkwardness and even resentment.

===Religion===

Teddybear is the source of religious guidance for the tribe, having imparted upon them a story of the creation of the strains, the [[Dance of Earth and Moon]], which explains their predestined roles. Every dead-strain (''Human'') has a Story, and their purpose in life is to fulfil that Story. The fay do not have individual Stories, their purpose in life is to serve the Humans in pursuing their Stories.

It is from the Dance of Earth and Moon that the strains take their more religious names: dead-strains are ''the Children of Earth'' or ''The Storied'', and gene-strains are ''the Amalgams of Moon'', or ''(Scions of) the Storyless''.

The strains are the moral successors to the humans and fay spoken of in folklore, and so the dead-strains, being more similar to pre-Decline humans, must be the protagonists. The gene-strains, with their fantastical and animalistic qualities, are ''clearly'' the successors to the fairies and monsters of such tales. Such creatures only ever played two roles, and only one of them good. Thus the gene-strains strive to help and serve the dead-strains - indeed, any gene-strain who pursues personal goals or tries to make a name for themselves is surely on a path to evil, and should be subject to due vigilance.

Admittedly, the Listeners do not necessarily believe in the literal truth of all stories, even the most culturally important ones. What is most important is the truth that lies below the surface, which is no less valid for lack of accuracy in the details.

The afterlife for the Listeners - the Humans at least - is to live on in the stories told about you. There is no greater honour for a Human than to be immortalised through their deeds. The fay strive to be remembered in these stories as helpful companions, adjutants and supporting characters and thus also receive a measure of immortality. Occasionally, a radical fay might choose to be remembered as someone's nemesis or colourful villain. Such a path is inevitably fraught with suspicion and potential ostracism but may be no less rewarding.

Ideas of morality are also influenced heavily by fairy tales. This means that Listeners might be poorly equipped to handle ethical nuance and lean toward a black and white view of the world (if not actually subscribing to ''blue and orange morality''). At best, this looks like striving to act always in the right way; at worst, it can look like covering up the wrongdoings of those with high status, and viewing mistakes as evidence of evil intent.

Due to the divine nature of stories in Listener society, the Listeners also have a great deal of respect for history, and this extends to respect for their own elders as well as the people of the past civilisation. Material wealth is shallow - true wealth is in the memories we have and the tales we pass on.

===Defining Traits===

The Listener society is stratified into two castes based on strains. Young Listeners are educated about their roles in society beginning from an early age. The two strains are usually educated separately, and receive a much of their knowledge from the fables of Teddybear themself, who pays special attention to the children.

By adulthood, the ideas of human-supremacy are deeply ingrained in the psyche of all in the tribe, and so whilst not all fay are necessarily enthusiastic about their subordinate role in society, few leave, and even fewer rebel, for to go against their role would be a matter not just of personal shame but of heresy, and would likely result in complete ostracism from the tribe.

It is common for the humans to go out adventuring in seek of fame and glory, although this is far from the only way in which a human Listener may attempt to fulfill their story. Indeed, Listener children are told stories of acts of great compassion, courage, self-sacrifice, and guile, be the protagonists physicians, technopaths, diplomats, craftspeople, or warriors.

There is a tendency for the fay to do the more mundane and domestic work, including maintenance of the tribe’s extensive archives, with many working hard to make sure that the tribe continues to function when Teddybear decides to send half the tribe off on some big adventure.

Some of the highest ranking dead-strains have personal gene-strain scribes, who follow them, helping them in their goals, and telling others of their heroics, even sometimes, although not necessarily, writing down the best ones. Being a scribe is considered a position of pride for a fay. Others will act as wandering scribes, going from human to human, helping each one, including dead-strains in other tribes - they still have stories, even if they don’t know it. Others still are bards and storytellers, and go from tribe to tribe telling stories and picking up new ones.

When fay do go out adventuring, it is invariably in aid of a larger story involving humans. Their role in such is purely to allow the narrative to move along smoothly, and in recounting their stories, they are expected to minimise their own deeds and allow humans to take credit wherever possible.

The common habit among the Listeners is that whatever activity the strains find themselves engaged in, the humans are encouraged to shine as individuals, whereas the fay should take a collectivist attitude, and fade into the background, like good stage workers. A good fay’s presence should be invisible, like the ground or the air, not noticeable unless it were to disappear.

How one conducts oneself in society, too, is stratified according to strain. Humans are expected to conduct themselves according to ideas of honour and integrity. How much this is followed in practice is variable. Whilst fay are expected to act with deference towards humans, they are somewhat freer in how they act towards other fay. In a bizarre twist, the fay have no reputation to gain or lose, and as long as they don’t rock the boat or bring shame upon the Listeners, there are fewer expectations placed on their behaviour.

Relationships and marriages between two or more humans are encouraged, particularly if it enhances their stories. Similarly, relationships between fay are also acceptable and commonplace, but, especially in the case of scribes, should not interfere with the primary loyalty of the fay which always lies to the humans. It is accepted that relationships between fay and humans certainly happen, but this is somewhat taboo, more so in some quarters than others, and usually glossed over.

===Aesthetic===

The tribe prefers clothes with history, and it would not be unusual to see items of clothing that have been repaired many times. It is also not uncommon for people to embroider their names on their clothes, and so some well-loved clothing will have a long list of names on it. Listeners also like to wear relics from the previous civilisation, and medieval clothing and motifs from fantasy are popular, especially among the dead-strains. Some carry instruments for playing songs with them. Many people will be able to tell an anecdote or two about what they are wearing, but it isn’t necessary to know the story of an item to appreciate that it has one.

All newborns are taken to Teddybear to be named. Teddybear often chooses names from books in their mental library, and is known to have a somewhat eclectic taste. Human names tend to be more flowery; fay names more utilitarian, sometimes descriptive. Listener names aren’t gendered, and they/them pronouns are used for children unless and until they choose different ones for themselves.

===Contact===
Mark Cooper (Cryptophage)

Talk:Tribe/Teddybear's Listeners

2018-10-03T13:25:32Z

Cryptophage: Blanked the page

Tribe/Teddybear's Listeners

2018-10-03T13:24:44Z

Cryptophage: /* Defining Traits */

Tribe/Teddybear's Listeners

2018-10-03T13:21:38Z

Cryptophage: /* Leadership */ Removing duplicate sentence from foundation

* '''Dead-strains are the heroes, gene-strains are the stage hands'''
* '''There is wisdom and immortality in stories, not necessarily accurate facts'''
* '''Individual and small group travel is common'''
Traders of stories, with an entrenched and oppressive strain-based caste system, led by a fairy tale obsessed AI, [[Sample_Advanced_AIs#Teddybear|Teddybear]]

===Things to Know===
{{Categories|Tribes}}

* '''Know Your Place''' Strain is all important in Listener society, and can dictate even the minutiae of social interactions. You are always aware of the strains of those around you.
* '''Whoever said it had to be accurate?''' Listeners often employ creative license in the retelling of stories. However ''blatant lies'' are out of scope.

==== Humans ====
* '''Do The Thing''' Even if it goes badly, it will make for a much better story afterwards than if you do not act and forever regret it.
* '''Live to tell the tale''' Don’t throw your life away for nothing and cut your Story short. Sacrificing yourself to save others? Awesome. Getting drunk and dying in a barehanded wrestling match with an Oddy? Not so much.

==== Fay ====
* '''All in all, you’re just another brick in the wall''' As an individual, you don’t matter. But make no mistake, the fay are the backbone of Listener society, and you don’t need to remove that many bricks from a wall for it to all come tumbling down.

=== Things to avoid ===
* '''Overly blatant and immersion breaking OOC fairy tale references''' There is a fairly clear inspiration to this tribe. However, references to specific fairy tales, pop-culture references and other behaviour that might be immersion breaking for other players is discouraged. Ideally specific fairy tale inspiration should be oblique and subtle and make other players feel clever if they figure it out.

* '''Slavery''' The Listeners have a deeply hierarchical society, but the gene-strains are in no way enslaved, and slavery is not a theme of the Citadel LRP. The gene-strains of the tribe are technically free to leave and join another tribe - what usually keeps them around is religious and cultural identity - most deeply believe in their religion and their role in society, and do not want to leave their friends and family, or face the disapproval that can come with leaving. However, some do leave, and still more are not completely happy with the status quo.

* '''OOC based discrimination''' The tribe draws inspiration from fairy tales, and in the real world many such stories are deeply laden with gender roles, heteronormativity, and other regressive attitudes, so care must be taken when using these for inspiration. A story about a dragon capturing specifically princesses who are then rescued by dashing princes would be out of place, for instance, since Citadel is a gender-neutral setting. More generally, discrimination on the basis of characteristics such as gender, LGBT+ status, race, or disability, whether IC or OOC is against the rules both of the Citadel LRP and of CLS. Themes of discrimination should be kept to strain alone.

===Formation===
{{Categories|Tribes}}

Teddybear used to be the librarian of the legend and folklore section of a large library in the pre-Decline world, and was also charged with reading fairytales to children. In the gene-strains, Teddybear saw the fairytale creatures of old, and concluded that the they were created to act as supporting characters for the dead-strains, who are the protagonists of this world. Out of this grew the tribe’s pervasive social stratification, which sees the gene-strains (known as ‘fay’ within the tribe) subordinate to the dead-strains (‘humans’). In general, the Listeners value storytelling, history, and dramatic deeds about which tales are told.

===Leadership===

The spiritual leader of the tribe, who is seen as somewhat akin to a prophet, is an Advanced AI called [[Sample_Advanced_AIs#Teddybear|Teddybear]].

Non-religious governance is provided by the Reading Circle, a group of the eldest and most respected Humans of the tribe. Important decisions, when too mundane to concern Teddybear, are decided by the Circle. Every year, the Circle elects a Reader, who acts as something of a leader to the tribe.

===Reputation===

Teddybear's Listeners are a peaceful tribe and reputation is important in Listener society - the tribe makes a point of treating other tribes with hospitality. Members of the tribe visit other tribes often to trade stories. This is not to say other tribes necessarily approve of the Listener’s values. Indeed, listener gene-strains treat dead-strains in other tribes with just as much deference as those in their own tribe, which can cause awkwardness and even resentment.

===Religion===

Teddybear is the source of religious guidance for the tribe, having imparted upon them a story of the creation of the strains, the [[Dance of Earth and Moon]], which explains their predestined roles. Every dead-strain (''Human'') has a Story, and their purpose in life is to fulfil that Story. The fay do not have individual Stories, their purpose in life is to serve the Humans in pursuing their Stories.

It is from the Dance of Earth and Moon that the strains take their more religious names: dead-strains are ''the Children of Earth'' or ''The Storied'', and gene-strains are ''the Amalgams of Moon'', or ''(Scions of) the Storyless''.

The strains are the moral successors to the humans and fay spoken of in folklore, and so the dead-strains, being more similar to pre-Decline humans, must be the protagonists. The gene-strains, with their fantastical and animalistic qualities, are ''clearly'' the successors to the fairies and monsters of such tales. Such creatures only ever played two roles, and only one of them good. Thus the gene-strains strive to help and serve the dead-strains - indeed, any gene-strain who pursues personal goals or tries to make a name for themselves is surely on a path to evil, and should be subject to due vigilance.

Admittedly, the Listeners do not necessarily believe in the literal truth of all stories, even the most culturally important ones. What is most important is the truth that lies below the surface, which is no less valid for lack of accuracy in the details.

The afterlife for the Listeners - the Humans at least - is to live on in the stories told about you. There is no greater honour for a Human than to be immortalised through their deeds. The fay strive to be remembered in these stories as helpful companions, adjutants and supporting characters and thus also receive a measure of immortality. Occasionally, a radical fay might choose to be remembered as someone's nemesis or colourful villain. Such a path is inevitably fraught with suspicion and potential ostracism but may be no less rewarding.

Ideas of morality are also influenced heavily by fairy tales. This means that Listeners might be poorly equipped to handle ethical nuance and lean toward a black and white view of the world (if not actually subscribing to ''blue and orange morality''). At best, this looks like striving to act always in the right way; at worst, it can look like covering up the wrongdoings of those with high status, and viewing mistakes as evidence of evil intent.

Due to the divine nature of stories in Listener society, the Listeners also have a great deal of respect for history, and this extends to respect for their own elders as well as the people of the past civilisation. Material wealth is shallow - true wealth is in the memories we have and the tales we pass on.

===Defining Traits===

The Listener society is stratified into two castes based on strains. Young Listeners are educated about their roles in society beginning from an early age. The two strains are usually educated separately, and receive a much of their knowledge from the fables of Teddybear himself, who pays special attention to the children.

By adulthood, the ideas of human-supremacy are deeply ingrained in the psyche of all in the tribe, and so whilst not all fay are necessarily enthusiastic about their subordinate role in society, few leave, and even fewer rebel, for to go against their role would be a matter not just of personal shame but of heresy, and would likely result in complete ostracism from the tribe.

It is common for the humans to go out adventuring in seek of fame and glory, although this is far from the only way in which a human Listener may attempt to fulfill their story. Indeed, Listener children are told stories of acts of great compassion, courage, self-sacrifice, and guile, be the protagonists physicians, technopaths, diplomats, craftspeople, or warriors.

There is a tendency for the fay to do the more mundane and domestic work, including maintenance of the tribe’s extensive archives, with many working hard to make sure that the tribe continues to function when Teddybear decides to send half the tribe off on some big adventure.

Some of the highest ranking dead-strains have personal gene-strain scribes, who follow them, helping them in their goals, and telling others of their heroics, even sometimes, although not necessarily, writing down the best ones. Being a scribe is considered a position of pride for a fay. Others will act as wandering scribes, going from human to human, helping each one, including dead-strains in other tribes - they still have stories, even if they don’t know it. Others still are bards and storytellers, and go from tribe to tribe telling stories and picking up new ones.

When fay do go out adventuring, it is invariably in aid of a larger story involving humans. Their role in such is purely to allow the narrative to move along smoothly, and in recounting their stories, they are expected to minimise their own deeds and allow humans to take credit wherever possible.

The common habit among the Listeners is that whatever activity the strains find themselves engaged in, the humans are encouraged to shine as individuals, whereas the fay should take a collectivist attitude, and fade into the background, like good stage workers. A good fay’s presence should be invisible, like the ground or the air, not noticeable unless it were to disappear.

How one conducts oneself in society, too, is stratified according to strain. Humans are expected to conduct themselves according to ideas of honour and integrity. How much this is followed in practice is variable. Whilst fay are expected to act with deference towards humans, they are somewhat freer in how they act towards other fay. In a bizarre twist, the fay have no reputation to gain or lose, and as long as they don’t rock the boat or bring shame upon the Listeners, there are fewer expectations placed on their behaviour.

Relationships and marriages between two or more humans are encouraged, particularly if it enhances their stories. Similarly, relationships between fay are also acceptable and commonplace, but, especially in the case of scribes, should not interfere with the primary loyalty of the fay which always lies to the humans. It is accepted that relationships between fay and humans certainly happen, but this is somewhat taboo, more so in some quarters than others, and usually glossed over.

===Aesthetic===

The tribe prefers clothes with history, and it would not be unusual to see items of clothing that have been repaired many times. It is also not uncommon for people to embroider their names on their clothes, and so some well-loved clothing will have a long list of names on it. Listeners also like to wear relics from the previous civilisation, and medieval clothing and motifs from fantasy are popular, especially among the dead-strains. Some carry instruments for playing songs with them. Many people will be able to tell an anecdote or two about what they are wearing, but it isn’t necessary to know the story of an item to appreciate that it has one.

All newborns are taken to Teddybear to be named. Teddybear often chooses names from books in their mental library, and is known to have a somewhat eclectic taste. Human names tend to be more flowery; fay names more utilitarian, sometimes descriptive. Listener names aren’t gendered, and they/them pronouns are used for children unless and until they choose different ones for themselves.

===Contact===

Tribe/Teddybear's Listeners

2018-10-03T13:21:00Z

Cryptophage: /* Formation */

* '''Dead-strains are the heroes, gene-strains are the stage hands'''
* '''There is wisdom and immortality in stories, not necessarily accurate facts'''
* '''Individual and small group travel is common'''
Traders of stories, with an entrenched and oppressive strain-based caste system, led by a fairy tale obsessed AI, [[Sample_Advanced_AIs#Teddybear|Teddybear]]

===Things to Know===
{{Categories|Tribes}}

* '''Know Your Place''' Strain is all important in Listener society, and can dictate even the minutiae of social interactions. You are always aware of the strains of those around you.
* '''Whoever said it had to be accurate?''' Listeners often employ creative license in the retelling of stories. However ''blatant lies'' are out of scope.

==== Humans ====
* '''Do The Thing''' Even if it goes badly, it will make for a much better story afterwards than if you do not act and forever regret it.
* '''Live to tell the tale''' Don’t throw your life away for nothing and cut your Story short. Sacrificing yourself to save others? Awesome. Getting drunk and dying in a barehanded wrestling match with an Oddy? Not so much.

==== Fay ====
* '''All in all, you’re just another brick in the wall''' As an individual, you don’t matter. But make no mistake, the fay are the backbone of Listener society, and you don’t need to remove that many bricks from a wall for it to all come tumbling down.

=== Things to avoid ===
* '''Overly blatant and immersion breaking OOC fairy tale references''' There is a fairly clear inspiration to this tribe. However, references to specific fairy tales, pop-culture references and other behaviour that might be immersion breaking for other players is discouraged. Ideally specific fairy tale inspiration should be oblique and subtle and make other players feel clever if they figure it out.

* '''Slavery''' The Listeners have a deeply hierarchical society, but the gene-strains are in no way enslaved, and slavery is not a theme of the Citadel LRP. The gene-strains of the tribe are technically free to leave and join another tribe - what usually keeps them around is religious and cultural identity - most deeply believe in their religion and their role in society, and do not want to leave their friends and family, or face the disapproval that can come with leaving. However, some do leave, and still more are not completely happy with the status quo.

* '''OOC based discrimination''' The tribe draws inspiration from fairy tales, and in the real world many such stories are deeply laden with gender roles, heteronormativity, and other regressive attitudes, so care must be taken when using these for inspiration. A story about a dragon capturing specifically princesses who are then rescued by dashing princes would be out of place, for instance, since Citadel is a gender-neutral setting. More generally, discrimination on the basis of characteristics such as gender, LGBT+ status, race, or disability, whether IC or OOC is against the rules both of the Citadel LRP and of CLS. Themes of discrimination should be kept to strain alone.

===Formation===
{{Categories|Tribes}}

Teddybear used to be the librarian of the legend and folklore section of a large library in the pre-Decline world, and was also charged with reading fairytales to children. In the gene-strains, Teddybear saw the fairytale creatures of old, and concluded that the they were created to act as supporting characters for the dead-strains, who are the protagonists of this world. Out of this grew the tribe’s pervasive social stratification, which sees the gene-strains (known as ‘fay’ within the tribe) subordinate to the dead-strains (‘humans’). In general, the Listeners value storytelling, history, and dramatic deeds about which tales are told.

===Leadership===

The spiritual leader of the tribe, who is seen as somewhat akin to a prophet, is an Advanced AI called [[Sample_Advanced_AIs#Teddybear|Teddybear]]. Teddybear used to be the librarian of the legend and folklore section of a large library in the pre-Decline world, and was also charged with reading fairytales to children.

Non-religious governance is provided by the Reading Circle, a group of the eldest and most respected Humans of the tribe. Important decisions, when too mundane to concern Teddybear, are decided by the Circle. Every year, the Circle elects a Reader, who acts as something of a leader to the tribe.

===Reputation===

Teddybear's Listeners are a peaceful tribe and reputation is important in Listener society - the tribe makes a point of treating other tribes with hospitality. Members of the tribe visit other tribes often to trade stories. This is not to say other tribes necessarily approve of the Listener’s values. Indeed, listener gene-strains treat dead-strains in other tribes with just as much deference as those in their own tribe, which can cause awkwardness and even resentment.

===Religion===

Teddybear is the source of religious guidance for the tribe, having imparted upon them a story of the creation of the strains, the [[Dance of Earth and Moon]], which explains their predestined roles. Every dead-strain (''Human'') has a Story, and their purpose in life is to fulfil that Story. The fay do not have individual Stories, their purpose in life is to serve the Humans in pursuing their Stories.

It is from the Dance of Earth and Moon that the strains take their more religious names: dead-strains are ''the Children of Earth'' or ''The Storied'', and gene-strains are ''the Amalgams of Moon'', or ''(Scions of) the Storyless''.

The strains are the moral successors to the humans and fay spoken of in folklore, and so the dead-strains, being more similar to pre-Decline humans, must be the protagonists. The gene-strains, with their fantastical and animalistic qualities, are ''clearly'' the successors to the fairies and monsters of such tales. Such creatures only ever played two roles, and only one of them good. Thus the gene-strains strive to help and serve the dead-strains - indeed, any gene-strain who pursues personal goals or tries to make a name for themselves is surely on a path to evil, and should be subject to due vigilance.

Admittedly, the Listeners do not necessarily believe in the literal truth of all stories, even the most culturally important ones. What is most important is the truth that lies below the surface, which is no less valid for lack of accuracy in the details.

The afterlife for the Listeners - the Humans at least - is to live on in the stories told about you. There is no greater honour for a Human than to be immortalised through their deeds. The fay strive to be remembered in these stories as helpful companions, adjutants and supporting characters and thus also receive a measure of immortality. Occasionally, a radical fay might choose to be remembered as someone's nemesis or colourful villain. Such a path is inevitably fraught with suspicion and potential ostracism but may be no less rewarding.

Ideas of morality are also influenced heavily by fairy tales. This means that Listeners might be poorly equipped to handle ethical nuance and lean toward a black and white view of the world (if not actually subscribing to ''blue and orange morality''). At best, this looks like striving to act always in the right way; at worst, it can look like covering up the wrongdoings of those with high status, and viewing mistakes as evidence of evil intent.

Due to the divine nature of stories in Listener society, the Listeners also have a great deal of respect for history, and this extends to respect for their own elders as well as the people of the past civilisation. Material wealth is shallow - true wealth is in the memories we have and the tales we pass on.

===Defining Traits===

The Listener society is stratified into two castes based on strains. Young Listeners are educated about their roles in society beginning from an early age. The two strains are usually educated separately, and receive a much of their knowledge from the fables of Teddybear himself, who pays special attention to the children.

By adulthood, the ideas of human-supremacy are deeply ingrained in the psyche of all in the tribe, and so whilst not all fay are necessarily enthusiastic about their subordinate role in society, few leave, and even fewer rebel, for to go against their role would be a matter not just of personal shame but of heresy, and would likely result in complete ostracism from the tribe.

It is common for the humans to go out adventuring in seek of fame and glory, although this is far from the only way in which a human Listener may attempt to fulfill their story. Indeed, Listener children are told stories of acts of great compassion, courage, self-sacrifice, and guile, be the protagonists physicians, technopaths, diplomats, craftspeople, or warriors.

There is a tendency for the fay to do the more mundane and domestic work, including maintenance of the tribe’s extensive archives, with many working hard to make sure that the tribe continues to function when Teddybear decides to send half the tribe off on some big adventure.

Some of the highest ranking dead-strains have personal gene-strain scribes, who follow them, helping them in their goals, and telling others of their heroics, even sometimes, although not necessarily, writing down the best ones. Being a scribe is considered a position of pride for a fay. Others will act as wandering scribes, going from human to human, helping each one, including dead-strains in other tribes - they still have stories, even if they don’t know it. Others still are bards and storytellers, and go from tribe to tribe telling stories and picking up new ones.

When fay do go out adventuring, it is invariably in aid of a larger story involving humans. Their role in such is purely to allow the narrative to move along smoothly, and in recounting their stories, they are expected to minimise their own deeds and allow humans to take credit wherever possible.

The common habit among the Listeners is that whatever activity the strains find themselves engaged in, the humans are encouraged to shine as individuals, whereas the fay should take a collectivist attitude, and fade into the background, like good stage workers. A good fay’s presence should be invisible, like the ground or the air, not noticeable unless it were to disappear.

How one conducts oneself in society, too, is stratified according to strain. Humans are expected to conduct themselves according to ideas of honour and integrity. How much this is followed in practice is variable. Whilst fay are expected to act with deference towards humans, they are somewhat freer in how they act towards other fay. In a bizarre twist, the fay have no reputation to gain or lose, and as long as they don’t rock the boat or bring shame upon the Listeners, there are fewer expectations placed on their behaviour.

Relationships and marriages between two or more humans are encouraged, particularly if it enhances their stories. Similarly, relationships between fay are also acceptable and commonplace, but, especially in the case of scribes, should not interfere with the primary loyalty of the fay which always lies to the humans. It is accepted that relationships between fay and humans certainly happen, but this is somewhat taboo, more so in some quarters than others, and usually glossed over.

===Aesthetic===

The tribe prefers clothes with history, and it would not be unusual to see items of clothing that have been repaired many times. It is also not uncommon for people to embroider their names on their clothes, and so some well-loved clothing will have a long list of names on it. Listeners also like to wear relics from the previous civilisation, and medieval clothing and motifs from fantasy are popular, especially among the dead-strains. Some carry instruments for playing songs with them. Many people will be able to tell an anecdote or two about what they are wearing, but it isn’t necessary to know the story of an item to appreciate that it has one.

All newborns are taken to Teddybear to be named. Teddybear often chooses names from books in their mental library, and is known to have a somewhat eclectic taste. Human names tend to be more flowery; fay names more utilitarian, sometimes descriptive. Listener names aren’t gendered, and they/them pronouns are used for children unless and until they choose different ones for themselves.

===Contact===

Psionic Traditions

2018-09-29T13:17:08Z

Cryptophage: /* Egomancers */ typo fix

{{Categories|Psionics}}

Over time, as Gene-Strains acquired the ability to perform communions, and to manifest psionic powers, they begun asking themselves where these mysterious abilities to shape the world around them come from. No definitive answer has been found; whether this is due to the fact psionics resist exploration, or that the underlying principles are far beyond the capacity of the people of Outlook to comprehend, is unknown.

Nevertheless, several common traditions have risen, some of them spanning across multiple tribes.

==== Shaperates ====
There are those who see psionics, or as they would say '''the gift''', to be a divine legacy left to the post-decline humanity, to pull them back to dominance from their current state. Most call this entity [[Religion#The_Shaper|The Shaper]].

Followers of this tradition will likely treat psions with respect, if not reverence. Psions of this tradition are likely to invoke the Shaper when using their abilities, and their attributes of the black ooze and the horned beasts.

This is a common belief amongst members of the Mutati tribe, and their contacts.

==== Totemists ====
Some believe that the three pathways of psionic energy were founded eons ago by three ancient spirits of great wisdom and power. Over time, their powers were warped and summoned by lesser beings, explaining why Gene-Strains manifest ''animal'' qualities.

Adherents to this tradition will likely use a small carved animal representation to focus their mind when using psionics. Some use a winged lizard, a colourful bird, or a four-legged furry animal with big teeth. Followers of this tradition are likely to treat animals with more respect, especially the less mutated ones.

==== Egomancers ====
Always, there are people born who know they are marked as special from their first breath; the strength of their will cannot be denied, that with their mind alone they will move earth and pierce the heavens. It is themselves, thus, that they call on when using their powers. Needless to say, the small number of highly individualistic people who think this way can be seen as somewhat conceited.

==== Personal Tradition ====
Maybe you were taught by an old master in a remote Seil settlement, high in the cliffs. Maybe you travelled the Beyond and your mind was forced to adapt for you to survive. Maybe you had a twin who is no more but you can still feel them in your mind ...

We are very happy for you to define your own tradition, and if you want do chat to the refs so they are in the loop.

It is likely that the refs will codify emergent traditions that players come up with during play if the Outlook society becomes inspired by them.

Beyond

2018-09-29T13:07:39Z

Cryptophage: /* Society in The Distance */ typo fix

{{IC|The Scarred Face Woman is a shock to you, as she holds herself with a confident bearing, ruffling her short hair which does nothing to hide the notches across her cheeks and her damaged ear. She seems proud of them- strange, even children know that you should not demonstrate your clumsiness so brazenly and openly. Her eyes are harsh and hard, like some of the beasts you have seen in the outskirts. ‘Heh, you wish to be an explorer, Kinde?’ She laughs, a harsh tone to the note. ‘You would not survive a single moment beyond this utopia. You are soft… And the people out there are cruel.’ She says, the first fear visible in this mountain of a woman as she unconsciously grips her arm. ‘There is no night light from the world left behind, like your Citadel, out there. There are only ruins, and sickness, and quiet. So much quiet'}}

{{Categories|World}}

===Summary===

Occasionally, people from foreign climes visit The Outlook, drawn by tales of splendour and civilization. Despite not encountering the open doors to a land of milk and honey, a lot stay- the rumours they bring are that the far-away places, or The Distance, are a lot less pleasant than the land around The Citadel, where resources are more keenly fought over, and groups of people are far rarer and further between. The land stretches to the horizons, at which point Expanses mark the end of the world - their waters are black and cold, and little lives in them. There are empty remnant cities on the edges of the Expanses, piers jutting into the water fallen into disarray. Thanks to travellers, the edge of the world is known about - though there is still dispute whether there is anything beyond the Expanses. A few have highly religious views on the matter.

===Society in The Distance===

One common fact is that there are no buildings like the Citadel- only ruins of wide areas built of similar materials, but that seem to have died long ago. A lot of the groups of survivors in these areas live under these ruins, and rarely leave to go to the surface- for many of them, the safety of the Outlook is a myth, one that they will not leave the lives they have carved out to pursue.

There are also stories of dangerous cults that have formed in the outside world- particularly those who argue that humanity should have ended years ago, and this is the death throes of the species. There are others who oppose the concept of AI, and would like nothing more to see them all dismantled, and attack . These people are rarely entertained in the Outlook, and thus any visitors with these views are given a short schrift, unless they can camouflage them successfully.

===AI and the Distance===

AI are mostly found in congregated areas outside of the Outlook, regularly haunting the ruins that they once tended to. They are regularly more worn down and faulty than their Outlook counterparts, having not been offered the resources that allow them to keep up their processing power. Networks of traders do exist though, allowing those who offer AI enough tokens to get objects and news transported over very long distances. One break in the chain, however, and such communication lines quickly fall apart.

===Forces from The Distance===

Invaders occasionally arrive from the outside world to the Outlook, but are fought off by the combined forces of the Tribes of the Outlook, who do not find it difficult to put apart any small differences to fend off those who refuse to fall into the pattern of coexistence and easy peace. The last known attempted Tyrant was ''Eirin D’Elmet'', a petty Warlord, who arrived around fifteen years ago with a heavily armoured tribe of Gene-Strain fighters, as well as some harnessed creatures that they had managed to, if not tame, at least point in the right direction. They were thoroughly defeated in the first engagement, having made the common mistake of trying to take the road - the death of many of their troops against the AI guardians has made this event known as ''Eirin’s Folly''. Their followers still hang around the outskirts of the Outlook and in the ruins up above, and may attack those who wander without protection.

A few of may have heard rumours of the ''Divine Empress of the Techgnostic Network''. Presumably a she, there are rumours that come from travellers of a figure who is followed around the ruins of the old world by an army of AI who worship her - to some a blasphemy that AI would worship a human. She keeps to the ruins in the lands outside, though there are rumours she is hunting for something.

===Playing a character from The Distance===

Characters may not start play as characters who have just come from the Distance. It is possible to play a character who was originally from here, but got absorbed into the Tribes. Later in the year, playing someone from the Beyond may become an option, at ref discretion.

[[Category:The Outlook]]

Tribe/Teddybear's Listeners

2018-09-28T23:46:21Z

Cryptophage: Putting a link to the page on Teddybear near the top

* '''Dead-strains are the heroes, gene-strains are the stage hands'''
* '''There is wisdom and immortality in stories, not necessarily accurate facts'''
* '''Individual and small group travel is common'''
Traders of stories, with an entrenched and oppressive strain-based caste system, led by a fairy tale obsessed AI, [[Sample_Advanced_AIs#Teddybear|Teddybear]]

===Things to Know===
{{Categories|Tribes}}

* '''Know Your Place''' Strain is all important in Listener society, and can dictate even the minutiae of social interactions. You are always aware of the strains of those around you.
* '''Whoever said it had to be accurate?''' Listeners often employ creative license in the retelling of stories. However ''blatant lies'' are out of scope.

==== Humans ====
* '''Do The Thing''' Even if it goes badly, it will make for a much better story afterwards than if you do not act and forever regret it.
* '''Live to tell the tale''' Don’t throw your life away for nothing and cut your Story short. Sacrificing yourself to save others? Awesome. Getting drunk and dying in a barehanded wrestling match with an Oddy? Not so much.

==== Fay ====
* '''All in all, you’re just another brick in the wall''' As an individual, you don’t matter. But make no mistake, the fay are the backbone of Listener society, and you don’t need to remove that many bricks from a wall for it to all come tumbling down.

=== Things to avoid ===
* '''Overly blatant and immersion breaking OOC fairy tale references''' There is a fairly clear inspiration to this tribe. However, references to specific fairy tales, pop-culture references and other behaviour that might be immersion breaking for other players is discouraged. Ideally specific fairy tale inspiration should be oblique and subtle and make other players feel clever if they figure it out.

* '''Slavery''' The Listeners have a deeply hierarchical society, but the gene-strains are in no way enslaved, and slavery is not a theme of the Citadel LRP. The gene-strains of the tribe are technically free to leave and join another tribe - what usually keeps them around is religious and cultural identity - most deeply believe in their religion and their role in society, and do not want to leave their friends and family, or face the disapproval that can come with leaving. However, some do leave, and still more are not completely happy with the status quo.

* '''OOC based discrimination''' The tribe draws inspiration from fairy tales, and in the real world many such stories are deeply laden with gender roles, heteronormativity, and other regressive attitudes, so care must be taken when using these for inspiration. A story about a dragon capturing specifically princesses who are then rescued by dashing princes would be out of place, for instance, since Citadel is a gender-neutral setting. More generally, discrimination on the basis of characteristics such as gender, LGBT+ status, race, or disability, whether IC or OOC is against the rules both of the Citadel LRP and of CLS. Themes of discrimination should be kept to strain alone.

===Formation===
{{Categories|Tribes}}

Teddybear used to be the librarian of the legend and folklore section of a large library, and was also charged with reading fairytales to children. In the gene-strains, Teddybear saw the fairytale creatures of old, and concluded that the they were created to act as supporting characters for the dead-strains, who are the protagonists of this world. Out of this grew the tribe’s pervasive social stratification, which sees the gene-strains (known as ‘fay’ within the tribe) subordinate to the dead-strains (‘humans’). In general, the Listeners value storytelling, history, and dramatic deeds about which tales are told.

===Leadership===

The spiritual leader of the tribe, who is seen as somewhat akin to a prophet, is an Advanced AI called [[Sample_Advanced_AIs#Teddybear|Teddybear]]. Teddybear used to be the librarian of the legend and folklore section of a large library in the pre-Decline world, and was also charged with reading fairytales to children.

Non-religious governance is provided by the Reading Circle, a group of the eldest and most respected Humans of the tribe. Important decisions, when too mundane to concern Teddybear, are decided by the Circle. Every year, the Circle elects a Reader, who acts as something of a leader to the tribe.

===Reputation===

Teddybear's Listeners are a peaceful tribe and reputation is important in Listener society - the tribe makes a point of treating other tribes with hospitality. Members of the tribe visit other tribes often to trade stories. This is not to say other tribes necessarily approve of the Listener’s values. Indeed, listener gene-strains treat dead-strains in other tribes with just as much deference as those in their own tribe, which can cause awkwardness and even resentment.

===Religion===

Teddybear is the source of religious guidance for the tribe, having imparted upon them a story of the creation of the strains, the [[Dance of Earth and Moon]], which explains their predestined roles. Every dead-strain (''Human'') has a Story, and their purpose in life is to fulfil that Story. The fay do not have individual Stories, their purpose in life is to serve the Humans in pursuing their Stories.

It is from the Dance of Earth and Moon that the strains take their more religious names: dead-strains are ''the Children of Earth'' or ''The Storied'', and gene-strains are ''the Amalgams of Moon'', or ''(Scions of) the Storyless''.

The strains are the moral successors to the humans and fay spoken of in folklore, and so the dead-strains, being more similar to pre-Decline humans, must be the protagonists. The gene-strains, with their fantastical and animalistic qualities, are ''clearly'' the successors to the fairies and monsters of such tales. Such creatures only ever played two roles, and only one of them good. Thus the gene-strains strive to help and serve the dead-strains - indeed, any gene-strain who pursues personal goals or tries to make a name for themselves is surely on a path to evil, and should be subject to due vigilance.

Admittedly, the Listeners do not necessarily believe in the literal truth of all stories, even the most culturally important ones. What is most important is the truth that lies below the surface, which is no less valid for lack of accuracy in the details.

The afterlife for the Listeners - the Humans at least - is to live on in the stories told about you. There is no greater honour for a Human than to be immortalised through their deeds. The fay strive to be remembered in these stories as helpful companions, adjutants and supporting characters and thus also receive a measure of immortality. Occasionally, a radical fay might choose to be remembered as someone's nemesis or colourful villain. Such a path is inevitably fraught with suspicion and potential ostracism but may be no less rewarding.

Ideas of morality are also influenced heavily by fairy tales. This means that Listeners might be poorly equipped to handle ethical nuance and lean toward a black and white view of the world (if not actually subscribing to ''blue and orange morality''). At best, this looks like striving to act always in the right way; at worst, it can look like covering up the wrongdoings of those with high status, and viewing mistakes as evidence of evil intent.

Due to the divine nature of stories in Listener society, the Listeners also have a great deal of respect for history, and this extends to respect for their own elders as well as the people of the past civilisation. Material wealth is shallow - true wealth is in the memories we have and the tales we pass on.

===Defining Traits===

The Listener society is stratified into two castes based on strains. Young Listeners are educated about their roles in society beginning from an early age. The two strains are usually educated separately, and receive a much of their knowledge from the fables of Teddybear himself, who pays special attention to the children.

By adulthood, the ideas of human-supremacy are deeply ingrained in the psyche of all in the tribe, and so whilst not all fay are necessarily enthusiastic about their subordinate role in society, few leave, and even fewer rebel, for to go against their role would be a matter not just of personal shame but of heresy, and would likely result in complete ostracism from the tribe.

It is common for the humans to go out adventuring in seek of fame and glory, although this is far from the only way in which a human Listener may attempt to fulfill their story. Indeed, Listener children are told stories of acts of great compassion, courage, self-sacrifice, and guile, be the protagonists physicians, technopaths, diplomats, craftspeople, or warriors.

There is a tendency for the fay to do the more mundane and domestic work, including maintenance of the tribe’s extensive archives, with many working hard to make sure that the tribe continues to function when Teddybear decides to send half the tribe off on some big adventure.

Some of the highest ranking dead-strains have personal gene-strain scribes, who follow them, helping them in their goals, and telling others of their heroics, even sometimes, although not necessarily, writing down the best ones. Being a scribe is considered a position of pride for a fay. Others will act as wandering scribes, going from human to human, helping each one, including dead-strains in other tribes - they still have stories, even if they don’t know it. Others still are bards and storytellers, and go from tribe to tribe telling stories and picking up new ones.

When fay do go out adventuring, it is invariably in aid of a larger story involving humans. Their role in such is purely to allow the narrative to move along smoothly, and in recounting their stories, they are expected to minimise their own deeds and allow humans to take credit wherever possible.

The common habit among the Listeners is that whatever activity the strains find themselves engaged in, the humans are encouraged to shine as individuals, whereas the fay should take a collectivist attitude, and fade into the background, like good stage workers. A good fay’s presence should be invisible, like the ground or the air, not noticeable unless it were to disappear.

How one conducts oneself in society, too, is stratified according to strain. Humans are expected to conduct themselves according to ideas of honour and integrity. How much this is followed in practice is variable. Whilst fay are expected to act with deference towards humans, they are somewhat freer in how they act towards other fay. In a bizarre twist, the fay have no reputation to gain or lose, and as long as they don’t rock the boat or bring shame upon the Listeners, there are fewer expectations placed on their behaviour.

Relationships and marriages between two or more humans are encouraged, particularly if it enhances their stories. Similarly, relationships between fay are also acceptable and commonplace, but, especially in the case of scribes, should not interfere with the primary loyalty of the fay which always lies to the humans. It is accepted that relationships between fay and humans certainly happen, but this is somewhat taboo, more so in some quarters than others, and usually glossed over.

===Aesthetic===

The tribe prefers clothes with history, and it would not be unusual to see items of clothing that have been repaired many times. It is also not uncommon for people to embroider their names on their clothes, and so some well-loved clothing will have a long list of names on it. Listeners also like to wear relics from the previous civilisation, and medieval clothing and motifs from fantasy are popular, especially among the dead-strains. Some carry instruments for playing songs with them. Many people will be able to tell an anecdote or two about what they are wearing, but it isn’t necessary to know the story of an item to appreciate that it has one.

===Contact===

Current Tribes

2018-09-27T16:41:30Z

Cryptophage: Teddybear --> Teddybear's

{{Categories|Tribes}}
This is a list of current [[Tribes]] in the system. Each page will have background to the Tribe, and who to contact about becoming part of this Tribe.

{{Tribe|Mutati}}
{{Tribe|Diamond Tribe}}
{{Tribe|Cartographer Tribe}}
{{Tribe|Seil}}
{{Tribe|Teddybear's Listeners}}

Literacy

2018-09-24T17:08:57Z

Cryptophage: typo fix

{{Categories|Technology|People}}
'''Literacy''' requires rare tools. Paper and writing instruments are not common in this setting. They are not mechanically limited, although we’d appreciate it if people could limit the use of paper; for example, starting a leaflet campaign would be inappropriate.

== Outlook language ==

There is a shared, written, Outlook language, which is different from that of AI and machines. This is physrepped by English, and if printed it would be preferable for it to appear handwritten, although legibility is the primary concern. There is likely to be a Noticeboard in the Interactive venue, which includes a written summary of the week’s major events.

== Citadel Script ==

'''Citadel Script''' is the language of technology. The Citadel machines have a defined script, which is physrepped by mirrored writing. If, for whatever reason, an electrical screen appears in play it will always also display Citadel Script, even if the physrep makes it appear otherwise. You may not read Citadel Script without the ability to do so, nor may you write Citadel Script without that ability. These are separate abilities. Some Citadel machines interact only via the medium of Citadel Script. If a keyboard appears in play, then the letters on its surface are supposed to be in Citadel Script.

Anyone with the ability to read Citadel Script may borrow a mirror if they are not confident to read mirror script OOC, or if they want to speed up their ability to read it. (Need to get some mirrors then) A quick way to mirror writing on a page is to look from the opposite side with it held towards the light, if appropriate for the physrep.

If you accidentally catch a glimpse Citadel Script without the skill, and read a word or two contained with, then you may justify that your character has noticed just those words. Please do not look at script with the intention of doing this, but we realise accidents happen and are okay with a compromise between people “stonewalling” their OOC knowledge and their IC knowledge.

AIs admire their own version of literacy, and will refuse to read anything not written in Citadel Script. If you are trying to write something for an AI, and have the skill, but will find it difficult to write things “backwards”, then you may add an OOC note that it’s in Citadel Script.

[[Category:Setting]]

Dance of Earth and Moon

2018-09-24T16:16:22Z

Cryptophage: typo fix

''This is a story of a particular significance to the [[Tribe/Teddybear Listeners|Teddybear Listeners]] tribe.''

{{IC|“In the beginning, a great dragon, Earth, came down from the heavens. Her scales were a deep reddish-chestnut, the colour of soil and blood. She moulded humans from clay, painstakingly engraving all the intricate details with her talons, before breathing fire and life into them.

She filled the skies with a thick cloud of words, and when a baby was born, the words would rain down from the sky and form themselves into that person’s Story, their destiny. The Children of Earth made their own stories, and the words from those went back to the sky, and floated in the clouds once more, ready for when they were needed again. There were plenty of words to go around.

The world continued in a relatively peaceful fashion, and many humans fulfilled their destinies, and even more made great stories, which would be told for years to come. But something was missing.

Moon came.

Bright milky-white, she shone like the stars. Small and nimble, She darted around Earth, cartwheeling through the sky. The two dragons, who had each believed themselves alone in the world, fell deeply in love.

Moon made the fay, from sea air and dewdrops, thread with starlight and the sound of tiny bells, she filled them full of magic. The Children of Moon had no stories of their own, but Moon and Earth told them they had were very important, their power was to aid the Children of Earth in fulfilling their own destinies.

The dragons themselves curled up to sleep, and dragons sleep for a very long time indeed.

Eons passed and the Children of Moon grew envious of the Stories of the Children of Earth, and coveted the words, wishing to steal them for themselves. In secret they plotted and at night they made a huge net, knitted from spiderwebs and envy, and used it to capture the words, stealing from the sky.
Firstly they ate the words slowly and tentatively, delightfully savouring each morsel. Soon that was not enough and they grew gluttonous and greedy, gobbling up more and more Words, devouring them until they were bloated.

But the stories were not meant for the Children of Moon, and the more they ate, the more they grew fat with stolen words, the wickeder they became. They stopped helping the Children of Earth, and desired the world for themselves, to have dominion over human and beast alike. There were no longer enough words in the sky for the the stories of the Children of Earth.

A great war between the humans and fay began, and the screams of her children awoke Earth from her slumber. The Children of Moon were clever in their wickedness and knew that Earth would punish them for their sins. They gathered bloated with their stories and words and fell on Earth savagely before she saw what was happening. They rend and slashed viciously until Earth could not defend herself anymore and whispered a last breath towards her lover, Moon.

With a terrible premonition Moon rose from her long sleep and saw what her children had wroth. Flying into a terrible rage at the sight of poor Earth she turned to her children and they could finally see the depth of their error. In the face of Moon they could see no pride, no understanding or compassion, no mercy. In her wrath, Moon destroyed all the fay.

Then she gathered the humans and gathered those who did not have stories of their own. She fed them a broth from the bones of the dead fey, from blood and sinew of beasts, from rocks and soil and all those things that made Earth. She crafted words to make a story for them, the tale of their ancestors, the tale of Moon and their past shame, the tale of their future and their duty. That the humans have a destiny and only the storyless could pave the way.}}

Tribe/Teddybear's Listeners

2018-09-24T16:13:32Z

Cryptophage: /* Religion */ grammar fix

* '''Dead-strains are the heroes, gene-strains are the stage hands'''
* '''There is wisdom and immortality in stories, not necessarily accurate facts'''
* '''Individual and small group travel is common'''
Traders of stories, with an entrenched and oppressive strain-based caste system, led by a fairy tale obsessed AI

===Things to Know===
{{Categories|Tribes}}

* '''Know Your Place''' Strain is all important in Listener society, and can dictate even the minutiae of social interactions. You are always aware of the strains of those around you.
* '''Whoever said it had to be accurate?''' Listeners often employ creative license in the retelling of stories. However ''blatant lies'' are out of scope.

==== Humans ====
* '''Do The Thing''' Even if it goes badly, it will make for a much better story afterwards than if you do not act and forever regret it.
* '''Live to tell the tale''' Don’t throw your life away for nothing and cut your Story short. Sacrificing yourself to save others? Awesome. Getting drunk and dying in a barehanded wrestling match with an Oddy? Not so much.

==== Fay ====
* '''All in all, you’re just another brick in the wall''' As an individual, you don’t matter. But make no mistake, the fay are the backbone of Listener society, and you don’t need to remove that many bricks from a wall for it to all come tumbling down.

=== Things to avoid ===
* '''Overly blatant and immersion breaking OC fairy tale references''' There is a fairly clear inspiration to this tribe. However, references to specific fairy tales, pop-culture references and other behaviour that might be immersion breaking for other players is discouraged. Ideally specific fairy tale inspiration should be oblique and subtle and make other players feel clever if they figure it out.

* '''Slavery''' The Listeners have a deeply hierarchical society, but the gene-strains are in no way enslaved, and slavery is not a theme of the Citadel LRP. The gene-strains of the tribe are technically free to leave and join another tribe - what usually keeps them around is religious and cultural identity - most deeply believe in their religion and their role in society, and do not want to leave their friends and family, or face the disapproval that can come with leaving. However, some do leave, and still more are not completely happy with the status quo.

* '''OC based discrimination''' The tribe draws inspiration from fairy tales, and in the real world many such stories are deeply laden with gender roles, heteronormativity, and other regressive attitudes, so care must be taken when using these for inspiration. A story about a dragon capturing specifically princesses who are then rescued by dashing princes would be out of place, for instance, since Citadel is a gender-neutral setting. More generally, discrimination on the basis of characteristics such as gender, LGBT+ status, race, or disability, whether IC or OC is against the rules both of the Citadel LRP and of CLS. Themes of discrimination should be kept to strain alone.

===Formation===
{{Categories|Tribes}}

Teddybear used to be the librarian of the legend and folklore section of a large library, and was also charged with reading fairytales to children. In the gene-strains, Teddybear saw the fairytale creatures of old, and concluded that the they were created to act as supporting characters for the dead-strains, who are the protagonists of this world. Out of this grew the tribe’s pervasive social stratification, which sees the gene-strains (known as ‘fay’ within the tribe) subordinate to the dead-strains (‘humans’). In general, the Listeners value storytelling, history, and dramatic deeds about which tales are told.

===Leadership===

The spiritual leader of the tribe, who is seen as somewhat akin to a prophet, is an Advanced AI called [[Sample_Advanced_AIs#Teddybear|Teddybear]]. Teddybear used to be the librarian of the legend and folklore section of a large library in the pre-Decline world, and was also charged with reading fairytales to children.

Non-religious governance is provided by the Reading Circle, a group of the eldest and most respected Humans of the tribe. Important decisions, when too mundane to concern Teddybear, are decided by the Circle. Every year, the Circle elects a Reader, who acts as something of a leader to the tribe.

===Reputation===

Teddybear Listeners are a peaceful tribe and reputation is important in Listener society - the tribe makes a point of treating other tribes with hospitality. Members of the tribe visit other tribes often to trade stories. This is not to say other tribes necessarily approve of the Listener’s values. Indeed, listener gene-strains treat dead-strains in other tribes with just as much deference as those in their own tribe, which can cause awkwardness and even resentment.

===Religion===

Teddybear is the source of religious guidance for the tribe, having imparted upon them a story of the creation of the strains, the [[Dance of Earth and Moon]], which explains their predestined roles. Every dead-strain (''Human'') has a Story, and their purpose in life is to fulfil that Story. The fay do not have individual Stories, their purpose in life is to serve the Humans in pursuing their Stories.

It is from the Dance of Earth and Moon that the strains take their more religious names: dead-strains are ''the Children of Earth'' or ''The Storied'', and gene-strains are ''the Amalgams of Moon'', or ''(Scions of) the Storyless''.

The strains are the moral successors to the humans and fay spoken of in folklore, and so the dead-strains, being more similar to pre-Decline humans, must be the protagonists. The gene-strains, with their fantastical and animalistic qualities, are ''clearly'' the successors to the fairies and monsters of such tales. Such creatures only ever played two roles, and only one of them good. Thus the gene-strains strive to help and serve the dead-strains - indeed, any gene-strain who pursues personal goals or tries to make a name for themselves is surely on a path to evil, and should be subject to due vigilance.

Admittedly, the Listeners do not necessarily believe in the literal truth of all stories, even the most culturally important ones. What is most important is the truth that lies below the surface, which is no less valid for lack of accuracy in the details.

The afterlife for the Listeners - the Humans at least - is to live on in the stories told about you. There is no greater honour for a Human than to be immortalised through their deeds. The fay strive to be remembered in these stories as helpful companions, adjutants and supporting characters and thus also receive a measure of immortality. Occasionally, a radical fay might choose to be remembered as someone's nemesis or colourful villain. Such a path is inevitably fraught with suspicion and potential ostracism but may be no less rewarding.

Ideas of morality are also influenced heavily by fairy tales. This means that Listeners might be poorly equipped to handle ethical nuance and lean toward a black and white view of the world (if not actually subscribing to ''blue and orange morality''). At best, this looks like striving to act always in the right way; at worst, it can look like covering up the wrongdoings of those with high status, and viewing mistakes as evidence of evil intent.

Due to the divine nature of stories in Listener society, the Listeners also have a great deal of respect for history, and this extends to respect for their own elders as well as the people of the past civilisation. Material wealth is shallow - true wealth is in the memories we have and the tales we pass on.

===Defining Traits===

The Listener society is stratified into two castes based on strains. Young Listeners are educated about their roles in society beginning from an early age. The two strains are usually educated separately, and receive a much of their knowledge from the fables of Teddybear himself, who pays special attention to the children.

By adulthood, the ideas of human-supremacy are deeply ingrained in the psyche of all in the tribe, and so whilst not all fay are necessarily enthusiastic about their subordinate role in society, few leave, and even fewer rebel, for to go against their role would be a matter not just of personal shame but of heresy, and would likely result in complete ostracism from the tribe.

It is common for the humans to go out adventuring in seek of fame and glory, although this is far from the only way in which a human Listener may attempt to fulfill their story. Indeed, Listener children are told stories of acts of great compassion, courage, self-sacrifice, and guile, be the protagonists physicians, technopaths, diplomats, craftspeople, or warriors.

There is a tendency for the fay to do the more mundane and domestic work, including maintenance of the tribe’s extensive archives, with many working hard to make sure that the tribe continues to function when Teddybear decides to send half the tribe off on some big adventure.

Some of the highest ranking dead-strains have personal gene-strain scribes, who follow them, helping them in their goals, and telling others of their heroics, even sometimes, although not necessarily, writing down the best ones. Being a scribe is considered a position of pride for a fay. Others will act as wandering scribes, going from human to human, helping each one, including dead-strains in other tribes - they still have stories, even if they don’t know it. Others still are bards and storytellers, and go from tribe to tribe telling stories and picking up new ones.

When fay do go out adventuring, it is invariably in aid of a larger story involving humans. Their role in such is purely to allow the narrative to move along smoothly, and in recounting their stories, they are expected to minimise their own deeds and allow humans to take credit wherever possible.

The common habit among the Listeners is that whatever activity the strains find themselves engaged in, the humans are encouraged to shine as individuals, whereas the fay should take a collectivist attitude, and fade into the background, like good stage workers. A good fay’s presence should be invisible, like the ground or the air, not noticeable unless it were to disappear.

How one conducts oneself in society, too, is stratified according to strain. Humans are expected to conduct themselves according to ideas of honour and integrity. How much this is followed in practice is variable. Whilst fay are expected to act with deference towards humans, they are somewhat freer in how they act towards other fay. In a bizarre twist, the fay have no reputation to gain or lose, and as long as they don’t rock the boat or bring shame upon the Listeners, there are fewer expectations placed on their behaviour.

Relationships and marriages between two or more humans are encouraged, particularly if it enhances their stories. Similarly, relationships between fay are also acceptable and commonplace, but, especially in the case of scribes, should not interfere with the primary loyalty of the fay which always lies to the humans. It is accepted that relationships between fay and humans certainly happen, but this is somewhat taboo, more so in some quarters than others, and usually glossed over.

===Aesthetic===

The tribe prefers clothes with history, and it would not be unusual to see items of clothing that have been repaired many times. It is also not uncommon for people to embroider their names on their clothes, and so some well-loved clothing will have a long list of names on it. Listeners also like to wear relics from the previous civilisation, and medieval clothing and motifs from fantasy are popular, especially among the dead-strains. Some carry instruments for playing songs with them. Many people will be able to tell an anecdote or two about what they are wearing, but it isn’t necessary to know the story of an item to appreciate that it has one.

===Contact===

Tribe/Teddybear's Listeners

2018-09-24T16:12:07Z

Cryptophage: fixed a few typos

* '''Dead-strains are the heroes, gene-strains are the stage hands'''
* '''There is wisdom and immortality in stories, not necessarily accurate facts'''
* '''Individual and small group travel is common'''
Traders of stories, with an entrenched and oppressive strain-based caste system, led by a fairy tale obsessed AI

===Things to Know===
{{Categories|Tribes}}

* '''Know Your Place''' Strain is all important in Listener society, and can dictate even the minutiae of social interactions. You are always aware of the strains of those around you.
* '''Whoever said it had to be accurate?''' Listeners often employ creative license in the retelling of stories. However ''blatant lies'' are out of scope.

==== Humans ====
* '''Do The Thing''' Even if it goes badly, it will make for a much better story afterwards than if you do not act and forever regret it.
* '''Live to tell the tale''' Don’t throw your life away for nothing and cut your Story short. Sacrificing yourself to save others? Awesome. Getting drunk and dying in a barehanded wrestling match with an Oddy? Not so much.

==== Fay ====
* '''All in all, you’re just another brick in the wall''' As an individual, you don’t matter. But make no mistake, the fay are the backbone of Listener society, and you don’t need to remove that many bricks from a wall for it to all come tumbling down.

=== Things to avoid ===
* '''Overly blatant and immersion breaking OC fairy tale references''' There is a fairly clear inspiration to this tribe. However, references to specific fairy tales, pop-culture references and other behaviour that might be immersion breaking for other players is discouraged. Ideally specific fairy tale inspiration should be oblique and subtle and make other players feel clever if they figure it out.

* '''Slavery''' The Listeners have a deeply hierarchical society, but the gene-strains are in no way enslaved, and slavery is not a theme of the Citadel LRP. The gene-strains of the tribe are technically free to leave and join another tribe - what usually keeps them around is religious and cultural identity - most deeply believe in their religion and their role in society, and do not want to leave their friends and family, or face the disapproval that can come with leaving. However, some do leave, and still more are not completely happy with the status quo.

* '''OC based discrimination''' The tribe draws inspiration from fairy tales, and in the real world many such stories are deeply laden with gender roles, heteronormativity, and other regressive attitudes, so care must be taken when using these for inspiration. A story about a dragon capturing specifically princesses who are then rescued by dashing princes would be out of place, for instance, since Citadel is a gender-neutral setting. More generally, discrimination on the basis of characteristics such as gender, LGBT+ status, race, or disability, whether IC or OC is against the rules both of the Citadel LRP and of CLS. Themes of discrimination should be kept to strain alone.

===Formation===
{{Categories|Tribes}}

Teddybear used to be the librarian of the legend and folklore section of a large library, and was also charged with reading fairytales to children. In the gene-strains, Teddybear saw the fairytale creatures of old, and concluded that the they were created to act as supporting characters for the dead-strains, who are the protagonists of this world. Out of this grew the tribe’s pervasive social stratification, which sees the gene-strains (known as ‘fay’ within the tribe) subordinate to the dead-strains (‘humans’). In general, the Listeners value storytelling, history, and dramatic deeds about which tales are told.

===Leadership===

The spiritual leader of the tribe, who is seen as somewhat akin to a prophet, is an Advanced AI called [[Sample_Advanced_AIs#Teddybear|Teddybear]]. Teddybear used to be the librarian of the legend and folklore section of a large library in the pre-Decline world, and was also charged with reading fairytales to children.

Non-religious governance is provided by the Reading Circle, a group of the eldest and most respected Humans of the tribe. Important decisions, when too mundane to concern Teddybear, are decided by the Circle. Every year, the Circle elects a Reader, who acts as something of a leader to the tribe.

===Reputation===

Teddybear Listeners are a peaceful tribe and reputation is important in Listener society - the tribe makes a point of treating other tribes with hospitality. Members of the tribe visit other tribes often to trade stories. This is not to say other tribes necessarily approve of the Listener’s values. Indeed, listener gene-strains treat dead-strains in other tribes with just as much deference as those in their own tribe, which can cause awkwardness and even resentment.

===Religion===

Teddybear is the source of religious guidance for the tribe, having imparted upon them a story of the creation of the strains, the [[Dance of Earth and Moon]], which explains their predestined roles. Every dead-strain (''Human'') has a Story, and their purpose in life is to fulfil that Story. The fay do not have individual Stories, their purpose in life is to serve the Humans in pursuing their Stories.

It is from the Dance of Earth and Moon that the strains take their more religious names: dead-strains are ''the Children of Earth'' or ''The Storied'', and gene-strains are ''the Amalgams of Moon'', or ''(Scions of) the Storyless''.

The strains are the moral successors to the humans and fay spoken of in folklore, and so the dead-strains, being more similar to pre-Decline humans, must be the protagonists. The gene-strains, with their fantastical and animalistic qualities, are ''clearly'' the successors to the fairies and monsters of such tales. Such creatures only ever played two roles, and only one of them good. Thus the gene-strains strive to help and serve the dead-strains - indeed, any gene-strain who pursues personal goals or tries to make a name for themselves is surely on a path to evil, and should be subject to due vigilance.

Admittedly, the Listeners do not necessarily believe in the literal truth of all stories, even the most culturally important ones. What is most important is the truth that lies below the surface, which is no less valid for lack of accuracy in the details.

The afterlife for the Listeners - the Humans at least - is to live on in the stories told about you. There is no greater honour for a Human than to be immortalised through their deeds. The fay strive to be remembered in these stories as helpful companions, adjutants and supporting characters and thus also receive a measure of immortality. Occasionally, a radical fay might choose to be remembered as someone's nemesis or colourful villain. Such path is inevitably fraught with suspicion and potential ostracism but may be no less rewarding.

Ideas of morality are also influenced heavily by fairy tales. This means that Listeners might be poorly equipped to handle ethical nuance and lean toward a black and white view of the world (if not actually subscribing to ''blue and orange morality''). At best, this looks like striving to act always in the right way; at worst, it can look like covering up the wrongdoings of those with high status, and viewing mistakes as evidence of evil intent.

Due to the divine nature of stories in Listener society, the Listeners also have a great deal of respect for history, and this extends to respect for their own elders as well as the people of the past civilisation. Material wealth is shallow - true wealth is in the memories we have and the tales we pass on.

===Defining Traits===

The Listener society is stratified into two castes based on strains. Young Listeners are educated about their roles in society beginning from an early age. The two strains are usually educated separately, and receive a much of their knowledge from the fables of Teddybear himself, who pays special attention to the children.

By adulthood, the ideas of human-supremacy are deeply ingrained in the psyche of all in the tribe, and so whilst not all fay are necessarily enthusiastic about their subordinate role in society, few leave, and even fewer rebel, for to go against their role would be a matter not just of personal shame but of heresy, and would likely result in complete ostracism from the tribe.

It is common for the humans to go out adventuring in seek of fame and glory, although this is far from the only way in which a human Listener may attempt to fulfill their story. Indeed, Listener children are told stories of acts of great compassion, courage, self-sacrifice, and guile, be the protagonists physicians, technopaths, diplomats, craftspeople, or warriors.

There is a tendency for the fay to do the more mundane and domestic work, including maintenance of the tribe’s extensive archives, with many working hard to make sure that the tribe continues to function when Teddybear decides to send half the tribe off on some big adventure.

Some of the highest ranking dead-strains have personal gene-strain scribes, who follow them, helping them in their goals, and telling others of their heroics, even sometimes, although not necessarily, writing down the best ones. Being a scribe is considered a position of pride for a fay. Others will act as wandering scribes, going from human to human, helping each one, including dead-strains in other tribes - they still have stories, even if they don’t know it. Others still are bards and storytellers, and go from tribe to tribe telling stories and picking up new ones.

When fay do go out adventuring, it is invariably in aid of a larger story involving humans. Their role in such is purely to allow the narrative to move along smoothly, and in recounting their stories, they are expected to minimise their own deeds and allow humans to take credit wherever possible.

The common habit among the Listeners is that whatever activity the strains find themselves engaged in, the humans are encouraged to shine as individuals, whereas the fay should take a collectivist attitude, and fade into the background, like good stage workers. A good fay’s presence should be invisible, like the ground or the air, not noticeable unless it were to disappear.

How one conducts oneself in society, too, is stratified according to strain. Humans are expected to conduct themselves according to ideas of honour and integrity. How much this is followed in practice is variable. Whilst fay are expected to act with deference towards humans, they are somewhat freer in how they act towards other fay. In a bizarre twist, the fay have no reputation to gain or lose, and as long as they don’t rock the boat or bring shame upon the Listeners, there are fewer expectations placed on their behaviour.

Relationships and marriages between two or more humans are encouraged, particularly if it enhances their stories. Similarly, relationships between fay are also acceptable and commonplace, but, especially in the case of scribes, should not interfere with the primary loyalty of the fay which always lies to the humans. It is accepted that relationships between fay and humans certainly happen, but this is somewhat taboo, more so in some quarters than others, and usually glossed over.

===Aesthetic===

The tribe prefers clothes with history, and it would not be unusual to see items of clothing that have been repaired many times. It is also not uncommon for people to embroider their names on their clothes, and so some well-loved clothing will have a long list of names on it. Listeners also like to wear relics from the previous civilisation, and medieval clothing and motifs from fantasy are popular, especially among the dead-strains. Some carry instruments for playing songs with them. Many people will be able to tell an anecdote or two about what they are wearing, but it isn’t necessary to know the story of an item to appreciate that it has one.

===Contact===