synodiporia_ooc | BEASTFOLK: A PLOT INFO

Entry tags:

BEASTFOLK: A PLOT INFO

Beastfolk
a Pastoral
May 15 - June 24

The Beastfolk of Home have been scratching out a living in their little corner of a highly dangerous world for over a century now, making the most of the few resources they have and relying on oral tradition and the strange visions of their seers to keep themselves going. But when a strange creature - that only one of the village elders recognises as a mythical human - stumbles into their enclave from beyond the desert and the latest group of foundling Beastfolk to arrive on Gods’ Isle is considerably larger than usual, questions about just what brought them there and how to move forward begin to arise…

World Info | Beastfolk Species | Health Issues | Community Structure | Wildlife | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | Infiltrator Groups/Roles | Investigator Roles | Locations | Skills | Calendar | Player Resources | Questions | Plotting

Threaded | Flat

History

The folk of Home don't know where they came from. As far as their oral history can trace back, they've lived in Home for about 120 years or so, and new Foundlings arrive once a year (on special occasions, such as after a great wave killed most of the population, foundlings arrive more than once a year). Each batch of Foundlings has at least one "seer" with visions and knowledge new to the group that brings a benefit of some kind, although it may take several seers' visions put together to actually make use of the benefit. Usually this is along the lines of new and improved farming techniques (or a new crop), or knowledge to create metal tools, or, once, knowledge of written language.

However, in spite of many being adult in body, and all having basic skills (eating, speaking, dressing themselves, etc.) down, no foundling ever remembers a life before waking up on Gods' Isle. The first few waves suffered mass casualties as they figured out how to work the land, and gather food from sea and forest, but mortality rates have steadily gone down since. The first plants cultivated were millet and barley, but flax and rice have been added to that list. Non-grains include chickpeas, lentils, lettuce and cabbage. Recently tree fruits (olives, apples, figs) and more variety in vegetables have been added. In the last 10 years, a herd of milk and wool producers has been started and is thriving with surprisingly few defects, at least compared to the natives.

There are three 'seasons': A long, dry drought season, a short, intense flood season, and in between a growing season. The most recent advancement was irrigation, to funnel water to fields even in the drought season, although it's not perfected and very little actually grows successfully during drought season. There isn't much entrenched leadership, although the elders are respected and mostly obeyed, especially when they all agree. They organize into loose family units--headed by two to four adults and a couple younger ones. The adults may treat each other in a sibling way, or be lovers. Mixing of kinds happens often, although it used to be uncommon for them to be involved sexually/romantically. It’s become more common in the past couple decades, but birth defects are all but guaranteed when the couple isn’t the same kind.

Foundlings arrive in the middle of the growing season, and are a big deal. They're all quickly adopted into families in one way or another. But there's a darker side to foundlings. An early seer encouraged them to send their dead "back to the gods" and it was noticed that some subsequent foundlings looked a lot like infants/adults that had died. There's a belief in reincarnation, and it's grown to the point where living members of the community, usually the old (mostly by choice) or the badly deformed (mostly not by choice), are "given to the gods" and abandoned on Gods' Isle once a year. They are always all gone the next morning. No one knows what actually happens to these people, but it's firmly believed that the gods are remaking them into a new foundling.

It's very idyllic, for certain definitions of that involve high risk of death, but as folk are eating better and living longer, things are starting to get overcrowded with the foundlings coming in every year. There's been talk about expanding, but the environment strongly limits that, so there's a bit of tension.

Traditions

--Harvests are a big deal, and while not celebrated with a full festival, completing a good harvest is cause for celebration, usually with a bigger than normal meal.
--no such thing as weddings, and even the concept of monogamy is a bit tenuous. Couples may form and be faithful, but it's equally common to see a romantically involved couple (or triad, or quadrad or…) with lovers on the side. In some cases this is for procreation reasons--it's known that having a baby with someone not your 'kind' is a recipe for disaster. In others it's purely because it works out for the people involved. There's no stigma for having a lover of the same sex, multiple lovers, or none. Or for having non-sexual romantic relationships (or purely sexual non-romantic relationships)
--the big festivals are the arrival of the Foundlings (which is also essentially a birthday party for everyone), and the festival honoring the elders and ancestors. Since they come so close together, it winds up effectively being one long festival anyway.
--the Day of Farewells is a group funeral. If someone dies during the rest of the year, their remains are wrapped up and buried at the edge of the desert proper, resulting in partial mummification. Day of Farewells is also when all the infirm, chronically ill, or other disabled individuals are given a "live" funeral. If they're willingly going, most will give away all of their possessions beforehand, and elders make a big deal of their imminent departure during the Ancestor's Festival. The Day itself is spent saying goodbye, and then just before sunset, the living and remains of the dead are carried out to Gods' Isle on the boats and left with a little food and sometimes small possessions. It's taboo to try and stay to watch, and everyone is always gone without a trace in the next morning. At least one case of a watcher going missing as well has happened, enforcing the taboo.

General information/all kinds: Senses are comparable to human or maybe very slightly more acute. Strength is dependant on size/musculature (a centaur with a draft-horse lower half will have the expected strength of a draft-horse and so on). Colors/patterns don't have to be naturally occuring (or naturally occuring for the animal used as an inspiration), although really bright colors are less common. Feathers and scales are more likely to be bright colors than fur. Foundling Beastfolk never have defects/disabilities, and children born in Home almost always do.

Centaur-- Centaurs have a mostly human body from the waist up attached to the body of a hoofed quadruped. Horses (and close relatives) and deer are the most common. Any mammal with hooves is an option, and horned/antlered types may optionally possess those features. Ears may be normal for a human, or horse/deer/etc. ears on top of the head. Some maned centaurs have said mane/hair running down the human "back." Centaurs tend to be the largest Beastfolk to match their lower bodies, but not to ridiculous extremes. (Very small centaurs can happen as well, though.)

Sphinx-- Rather than appearing like a mythological sphinx, they share the same body plans as centaurs, but with different animals for the back half. Most often, sphinxes have the lower bodies of felines, but canines, foxes, and mustelids also happen frequently. Any mammal with paws is an option, and sphinxes can vary widely in size, with the largest being centaur-sized.

Satyr-- They have a mostly human-appearing body, although they're usually very hairy all over and possess proportionally very long limbs. From the knee down, their legs are the hind-legs of a horse or close relative (although they frequently have two additional 'hooflets' beside the main hoof), and may give the appearance of almost walking on stilts, or of being a normal human that's been stretched. They also have a horse's tail and ears (or the tail and ears that match the sub-type). Some, but not all, also have a single horn sprouting from the forehead. Rare satyrs may have hind-legs more similar to a tapir, chalicothere, or rhinoceros. Some satyrs have hoof-like, or short-claw-like fingernails, and all can switch between bipedal and quadrupedal locomotion easily. Most satyrs also have exaggerated secondary sex characteristics, and are roughly within normal-human-ranges in mass (although the long legs may make them appear much taller than average humans).

Faun-- The lower half of their body is the back half of an even-toed ungulate (most frequently goats), including a matching tail. They have either pointed human-like ears, or goat-like ears, and always possess horns - at least two, and as many as six, usually sprouting from just above the temples. Some fauns have fur running up the spine as well or goat-like eyes. Fauns are usually normal human-sized, even if the animal they resemble would be much larger.

Harpy-- They have a mostly human body, with completely birdlike legs, a pair of wings in addition to arms coming from the back, a feathered tail, and taloned fingers. They may have feathering on other parts of the body as well. Harpies usually have normal human teeth and give live birth instead of laying eggs. Harpies tend to be small, light-weight, and have slight frames. Most have hollow bones, and a barrel chest to support the flight muscles.

Dragonmen--Their body plan is much like a harpy, only with a long lizard-like tail and legs, leathery wings, and scales instead of feathers. They usually have sharp teeth, are endothermic, and give live birth. They can appear more like scaly-bats, or swing very reptile-like in appearance, depending on player preference. They tend to be similar in size/frame and weight to harpies, and also have hollow bones.

Naga-- They are mostly human from the waist up, although many have four arms, and the body of a snake from the waist down. Nagas usually have scales even on the "human" half, and have fangs alongside mostly human dentition. They lack venom, however, even if the inspiration species has it. Like dragonmen, they're endothermic and give live birth. They are the longest Beastfolk, and can rival centaurs in weight, even if their proportions appear to be smaller/more slight.

Origins:
--Foundlings: Foundlings arrive on Gods' Isle once a year and never remember their pasts. They can be anywhere from a child to late middle-aged on arrival, and arrive with no permanent defects or disabilities of any kind (so no vision or hearing loss or permanent mobility issues on arrival, although they can develop naturally later). Rarely, new Foundlings are struck by a mysterious illness that leaves them weak and nearly crippled by pain and hunger for a short while. It almost always clears up within a month, and afterward they are fully healthy.

--Born in Home: Originally, the infant mortality rate of those born in Home was 100%, but it has gotten better. Currently, about 1 in 3 infants born are reasonably "normal" or have only minor deformities that can be worked around, overcome, or are merely cosmetic. The other two-thirds, unfortunately, are severely disabled in one way or another, and many don't live long because of it. Of those that are disabled but don't die within a few months of birth, many are still given a 'live' funeral on the Day of Farewells, with the expectation of being taken by the gods, given a healed/perfect body, and returned to Home as a Foundling.

Birth Defects List in order of increasing severity:
--most common minor defect for centaurs, sphinxs, satyrs and fauns is feathers or scales instead of fur. Likewise, for harpies, dragonmen and nagas, it's the reverse. (serious for harpies born without wing feathers)
--lack of a functioning vocal apparatus, or displacement of such (latter common in harpies and dragonmen). Often able to be overcome through gestural communication (a formal system of sign language has not been invented yet), or in the case of displacement, through practice and effort (results in short bursts of understandable speech much like a parrot is capable of)
--satyrs, fauns and nagas may have additional limbs, usually small and not very mobile, but in rare cases may have fully functional ones. These are often removed in infancy, if possible (which has a high death rate due to incomplete medical knowledge and the technology level). Can be particularly detrimental to movement if legs on a naga.
--vision, hearing, or other sensory impairment. There are ways around this, of course, but parents would be encouraged to send the affected child off on the Day of Farewells.
--dragonmen and harpies may have wings too small to fly with, or human arms instead of wings. Some are born with no middle limbs at all, or very stunted partial limbs. If not paired with other defects, this one is frequently survivable without severe impact on quality of life (except the lack of flight).
--centaurs, fauns, satyrs, and sphinxes can be born with hands or human feet in place of paws/hooves. Usually very serious and linked with other problems like mismatched limb-length and severe arthritis. Dragonmen and harpies can have a similar issue with their feet.
--centaurs and sphinxes can be born without the muscle/bone support for the sharp curve of the spine into their human torsos. Usually not fatal, but leads to many serious complications.
--all kinds: missing or very reduced limbs. Extremely serious for large centaurs and sphinxes, who might eventually suffocate under their own weight.
--all kinds: spinal problems, exposed spinal cords, missing/incomplete rib-cages, un- or improperly connected digestive tracts, lack of a diaphragm, etc. Usually fatal over a short period.

Everyone works. Everyone. Those who don’t contribute eventually end up treated as pariahs if they're physically able to work. If not physically able, there's social pressure to go back to the gods on the Day of Farewells. The most common occupation is farming, and during harvests everyone is expected to help pull in crops, even if they usually have other occupations. Some of the farmers specialize in certain crops, like rice, and the younger ones usually take care of the vegetable gardens.

In general, everyone helps everyone else as par for course. Some bartering goes on, especially if it's for something not strictly necessary (a new cooking pot, when the old one still works, in exchange for a bigger, thicker bed to ease arthritis, for example), but in most cases, a need will end up fulfilled by somebody. However, if someone has needs being met by others, while almost never providing the same in return, they are also often labeled as a pariah.

Families:
--Beastfolk do create small "family" groups, although they have a lot of variety in structure. Some families are what might be considered a "traditional" nuclear family with a romantic couple at the center and adopted "children." Other families may consist of several young adults with more sibling or friend relationships banding together. The most basic definition of a family to Beastfolk is the group that all shares the same cooking fire and bedding, and helps each other with basic chores like cooking, cleaning their space, and grooming. As many structures in the village house more than one cooking fire/family, the families that share a house may end up behaving like an extended family to each other.

Clothing:
--All clothing is utilitarian, and serves a practical purpose. Clothing might protect from heat and sun, or from cold. It might protect skin or sensitive areas from environmental hazards (chafing/blisters, or thorns and rocks and animal attacks). Leather gloves, smocks, etc. as protective gear can happen, and baby slings (when the baby is healthy enough) are common. Strips of cloth or string can be used to tie hair/manes/feathers/etc out of the way while working. But nakedness is not at all a taboo, so if the clothing doesn't serve a purpose (or the Folk are relaxing), seeing Folk walking around in only their own skin/scales/fur/feathers is pretty common. Most cloth is left undyed, but mostly plant-based dyes do exist, and may be used as an occupational identifier. (Healers often wear a particular color, for example, so that even new Foundlings have a way of recognizing them.) Purely decorative clothing is a foreign concept.

Naming:
Foundlings either pick a name for themselves or ask their new adoptive families to pick one for them. This happens shortly after foundling arrival and is a little celebration every year. Names are a mixed bag! They have a lot of words for things none of them have ever seen or really know what they are, so those can get co-opted into names. Descriptive names are common! Colors as names or adjectives as names, combinations of the two as names all happen. Some names are just phonemes stringed together in ways that sound pleasing. It's also common for a child/foundling to take a syllable or two from each (adoptive) parent's (which can be 2 or 3 or more) names and combine them to make a new name. And then there are the names that for no rhyme or reason are actual names from just about any culture one could think of. (Those names are treated by the Beastfolk as exactly the same as "these sounds go good" names, but investigators are welcome to raise eyebrows at them.)

Domesticated:
----Plants: include millet, barley, flax, rice, lentils, chickpeas, lettuce and cabbage, apples, olives, figs and similar.
----Milk and wool (and sometimes meat) herd animals, introduced in the last decade. They're called 'unicorns' for the single branching horn (which is actually an antler, and falls off at the beginning of the flood season) and resemble long-necked caribou with a thick wooly coat on the neck and back, and fish-scaled underparts. Sturdy, and can handle the tough vegetation of the plateau. However, longs will venture out of the forest to hunt and eat them.
----Pest control "pets," Furwyrms. Look like a two-legged ferret-snake hybrid with possible mongoose. Affectionate but get into everything, and will constrict even already dead prey before eating it. Very smelly. They eat mostly sand hens and vampires, but will attack and kill cabbits.

Ocean:
----various kinds of algae, including a more complex seaweed that's a cross of different red and brown algae (kelp)
----needle-fish: a cross between a barracuda and a houndfish with a long, pointed beak, and of a large size. Closest thing to a top predator and attacks pretty much anything else in schools of 2-5 fish. Good for eating, but dangerous to catch.
----sea serpent: a cross between a large sturgeon and an eel (most likely a combination of conger and moray species). Feeds peacefully on algae, small fish and the sole crustacean in the bay, and are the largest fish caught.
----birdfish: cross between freshwater sunfish, smelt and flying fish. Very abundant, and feed on algae, larva, and eggs of other fish. Prey for most of the predatory species.
----snappers: a variety of crustacean that looks like a combination of both lobsters and different kinds of crab (primarily spider crabs and large hermit crabs such as the coconut crab). It is amphibious, able to survive on land and in water, although the largest adults are solely aquatic. During the initial life-cycle, the aquatic larvae are prey for the other species of fish. And the soft-shelled juveniles that live in caves, the delta and tidal pools, are prey for both marine and land predators. Small adults live primarily on the beaches, traveling inland to steal from fields or eat in the forest at night, and retreating to the water during the day. Large adults are only prey for sea serpents (and even then, usually decomposing carcasses or injured individuals) or the Beastfolk.

Plateau/fields/delta (or general distribution):
-----plants: there is a river fern that grows in the delta, as well as "wild" rice. The plateau is mostly scrub bushes and grasses, with some cacti.
----sand hens: sextapoidal moles with bird wings. They nest in underground burrows but are capable of flight. Mostly found on the plateau closest to the desert, but have also colonized the riverbank and forest.
----cabbit: a combination of a cat and a hare. Omnivorous, and prey on sand hens, gill-snakes, juvenile snappers, and insects (as well as fish, although most of them avoid swimming) for meat, and can be a serious pest towards crops if they get too accustomed to Beastfolk. Fully wild cabbits will stay away from the village out of fear/wariness and eat scrub-grass and dig up the roots of forest vines though. They have some immunity to scorpio venom.
----gill-snakes: mudpuppy x garter snakes with axolotl gills. Relatively small, harmless, and primarily aquatic. They do have a single lung, but the external feathery gills are more efficient oxygen exchange. They burrow in the bottom of the delta and hibernate if conditions are too dry for them.
----death-heads: very large wasp/dragonfly nasties. Live in nests in either burrows or tree hollows and actively predatory towards other insects and even larger animals. Very venomous. Called so because the white markings on their heads seem to resemble skulls.
----scorpios: moth/scorpions. Actually docile pollinators, but do possess a sting with venom. This is mostly used to fend off death-heads and other predators. The scorplings undergo several molts under the mother's care, and then spin a cocoon to metamorphose into their winged adult stage.
----red bee: honeybee/widow spider. Away from the nest, they are mostly shy and harmless, but if defending the nest, they will swarm aggressively and sting. The venom is a nerve toxin, and multiple stings are usually fatal. They are black with red and white stripes, and a red hourglass on the belly. Their nests are made of both honeycomb and spider-silk, laid down in layers. Subsist almost entirely on nectar and honey, but will eat the corpses of death-heads if they attack a red-bee nest and are killed.
----vampires: cockroach (actually more closely related to giant hissing cockroaches), fly, and mosquito. Quite large, and feed on just about everything. Females must feed on blood several times before giving birth. (Live young, yay!) Only come out at twilight, and swarm during and shortly after the flood season. Another primary prey species of the cabbit and death-head.
----midges: These tiny, aerial insects are found in swarms all year round, and are pretty much literally everywhere. Every house and building will have some midges in it at all times, and midge swarms tend to follow folk around. About the only places they tend not to follow are the communal "bathroom" spots. They never seem to land on anything, and have a habit of hovering motionless for periods of time. They're considered only a minor annoyance, and are terribly hard to crush.

forest:
-----the forest is made up of mostly deciduous trees that lose their leaves in the drought season, but there are varieties of vines, bushes and ferns as well. Tree nuts similar to acorns can be harvested, as well as berries/fruits from some of the bushes (most except a bright orange variety and a mottled green-blue kind with a hard rind are toxic, though) during the growing season.
----long: top predator. It's part giant monitor lizard (komodo dragon on steroids, probably most similar to Megalania/Varanus Priscus) and part tiger, and has bat-like wings. Can't fly, but it can spread the wings and glide down from a high vantage point to a lower one; they also aid in swimming. Large enough to easily take down even the biggest centaur, and very dangerous, not even counting the necrotic bite. Luckily, they're not very common. On the other hand, they will occasionally leave the forest, cross the river, and climb up to the plateau to get at the unicorns. This has put them into direct contact with folk to disastrous results in the past.
----warhead: A boar and hyena cross. Mostly boar, but no less dangerous for it. While primarily vegetarian, they can and will attack and eat other creatures. About the only thing that can kill one reliably is the long. Their large tusks can gut a centaur, they have paws that end in small hooves instead of claws, and a hyena-like gait.
----armor-sides: antelope/armadillo. The tough armor on the sides and scaley scutes on the belly help provide protection from predators, but they mostly rely on camouflage and being able to jump and turn on a dime. Herbivores, but very shy and difficult to hunt so not a primary food-source. (They are very tasty, though, so if there's a chance to bring one down, a hunter will take it.)
----spiders: Will actually be recognizable to investigators as a mutated monkey. They're most common not-chimera of the animals. They have up to eight limbs, and generally at least six are fully functional. Expert climbers that mostly live in the treetops to consume fruits and nuts.
----screechers: a parrot/flying fox cross. Wings are bat-like, but have downy feathers instead of fur, and they're brightly colored with a toothed beak. Can mimic speech and are particularly fond of imitating a scream, hence the name. Eat fruit and nuts primarily, but will consume insects. Probably the best fliers in the ecosystem.
----honey-eaters: a badger/pangolin cross. They're semi-arboreal, have prehensile tails, and are one of the few creatures that will risk red bee nests to get at the honey. Immune to the venom of the bees, and will also eat death-heads, scorpios and vampires.
----[no name]: a giant wolf-bear that's appeared so recently that it doesn't have a name yet. The one that's been encountered is actively hostile and aggressive. It has killed two Folk and several unicorns. Most other forest dwellers don't leave the forest that often, but this one has been sighted several times, increasingly closer to the village each time.

If you’d like to sign up for a plot role, pop over here to let us know which one. Casting will be done during the day on the 11th.

The Strange Creature -- The strange creature in stranger getup, known as a mythical "human" to only one of the Beastfolk, stumbled half-dead out of the desert, and is now recovering. They find being amnesiac distressing and are looking to restore those lost memories. There has to be a way!

The Restless Seer -- This seer's childhood visions have all been put to good use, but have left them with an irrepressible thirst for the new and different. Exploring the desert now seems possible and promising.

The Neonate Seer -- A newly arrived foundling with disturbing, conflicting visions of marvels and something darker. They are lost and confused, but determined to find the truths behind their visions.

The Uncompromising Elder -- One of the eldest, they know that wisdom isn't always worth the extra mouth to feed. Even so, they don't want to give up on life. Uncontrolled change threatens everything they've worked all their life to build.

The Atheist -- A heartbreak in the past made the atheist lose their faith. They keep quiet about it, but now they're searching for answers and the reasons for everything in the holy places.

The Tortured Artist -- There's so much beauty in the world, hidden behind a veil of ugliness, and it's their life's work to reveal it. They just haven't found a medium yet, and it's so depressing. So is everyone else calling them lazy.

The Oral Historian -- A devotee to preserving history and caring for the elders, whether they want (or need) it or not, this historian is head of a very select group of younger folk that work on memorizing history so it will never be lost. One of the few that can read and write, they also care for the clay tablets that history is written on for posterity.

The Rebel Without a Cause -- An immediate case of friction, this new foundling has no respect for authority and a 'why don't you make me' response to being told to do anything. But they also give good, if crudely presented, advice so there may be more than meets the eye.

The Wallflower -- This foundling from last year's group is shy and introverted, but desperate to prove themself useful. They work best with someone to direct them, but asking for help is very stressful.

Edited 2019-05-09 04:43 (UTC)

Farming: The most common occupation, and it's active even in the drought season (clearing fields and upkeep of the irrigation system, if nothing else). Much of the farming is done by hand, but simple tools are also used. Centaur (or sphinx)-pulled plows have become common sights over the decades since a seer introduced them. Other crops are still planted by digging holes or making mounds and placing seeds in those spots one by one. The fledgeling orchards are also the domain of the farmers.

Fishing: The second most common occupation. There are only a few boats, and folk also use lines, hooks, and nets from the shores of the bay. Good swimmers also spear-fish.

Foresters: This is generally agreed to be the most dangerous occupation. They're hunter-gatherers, and also act as guards to carpenters gathering wood, and assist with guarding and retrieving water. They also guard farmers tending to the orchards, as those are very close to the forest.

Carpenters: They primarily make and repair the boats, and the wooden handles/parts for tools. They also construct the wooden frames for houses, and younger ones are tasked with making the wattle frames for the wattle-and-daub style homes. Any waste or extra wood is used as fuel. Younger carpenters may be tasked with gathering wood specifically for fires.

Potters make everything from ceramic bowls/pots, to great urns for storing food and water. They also make the mudbrick and daub for buildings. Everything they make is utilitarian, with almost no creativity or artistry involved. Potters also must gather their own materials, and man the kilns to fire their works.

Weavers craft the cloth for sails, shrouds for burial, nets and line for fishing, and also do clothing (although generally, only a bare minimum of clothing is considered socially polite and going bare isn't a taboo). They also make things like blankets, and the cases to be stuffed to make beds. They control the whole process from raw fibers (wool, flax plants), through spinning, and finally weaving/crocheting/knitting and dying, and then sewing, if necessary. Dye work is not particularly common, patterns (woven or otherwise) are all but unheard of, and decorative embroidery/additions do not exist. Leatherworking isn't the most common, and is considered a subset of weaving/textiles even though it technically isn't.

Metalworkers are a relatively new occupation (last twenty years or so), and thus a relatively small group. But metal tools have greatly improved other occupations, so they're highly respected. Mostly they make farm tools, or hunting and fishing tools. Most things are bronze, and they're also responsible for gathering the ores, but a recent seer had visions of iron and found a small metallic iron "meteor" to work with, so they're experimenting with that.

Herders are the most recent "new" occupation, and in addition to providing food, water and protection for their charges, are also responsible for milking them, shearing the wool, and transporting both back to the village. Probably the least numerous of all the mainstream occupations.

Healers are an old occupation, but always the smallest and most mysterious one. Led by a succession of seers who each bring something new to the trade, they do have some knowledge of herbal medicine, and do have the concept of 'boil for sanitizing' as well as enough knowledge to usually perform midwifery. They can set broken bones, stitch and bandage, and provide some symptom relief for illness but that's about as far as they're able right now. Healers are also responsible for the small gardens of medicinal plants that are grown close to the village.

Keepers of History: many of the Beastfolk, including some of the elders, argue that this isn't an occupation at all, and that the people doing it should get to real work. The history keepers see it as their duty to take care of the elders, and also to memorize and retell history so it isn't lost. In addition, they can (or are being taught to) read and write, and so preserve the clay tablets that important things are written on. Anyone wanting to have an infiltrator be a Keeper of History should coordinate with the Oral Historian's player and contact the mods/jaunt runners for more info!

Odd jobs: These aren't permanent occupations, and generally given to those who have the time that particular day, or due to injury, can't complete their normal duties. The rare very young child will often be put to these tasks full time until they're old enough to handle other occupations. Examples include guarding the fields and barns from pests, fetch and carry (example: taking a metal part of a tool to a carpenter to get the handle fixed on it, and then out to workers in the fields, or taking water/food out to other workers), and relaying messages. The least wanted odd job is carting waste (bodily wastes, ashes, rags, chaff, weeds, remains of food, etc) from the village to the composting sites, tending to the compost by turning, watering, and then carting matured compost back to the fields.

Non-occupational groups:
Seers: Seers can end up in any occupation, although usually in one that relates to their visions. Because of the shared experiences of visions, there is a general consensus that seers should stick together, so they'll have meetings to discuss visions, and at least know each other. Because for each seer that has visions that can be implemented there are several with visions too confusing, or needing resources they don't have, the arrival of new seers (with visions that might make things make sense or locate the resource) is always an exciting time. Those wanting to infiltrate as seers are encouraged to collaborate, and also to talk to the mods/jaunt runners about ideas for visions.

Elders: Considered a group because they've got the most experience, and generally, have managed to live longer than most other Beastfolk manage. One has to have been around for at least 40 years, if not longer, in order to be considered an elder. In some cases, this means the new "elder" is physically still middle-aged by the time they're included, and in other rarer cases (because of early death), it means they've reached old age before they're ever considered elders, since most Beastfolk arrive as young adults, but some arrive as children, and some arrive already middle-aged. In general, though, most elders are late middle-age at youngest.

SPECIAL INFILTRATION: "Mythical humans":
Please contact the mods/jaunt runners for more info! These humans will be physically isolated from the Beastfolk, and from a very restricted society. However, they will have some knowledge that Home exists (and depending on their choices/actions, might be able to open channels of in-jaunt communication) and a sudden influx of free time.

Edited 2019-05-09 04:43 (UTC)

Investigators will arrive on Gods' Isle with the other new Foundlings. They will all be assumed to be amnesiac new arrivals, and may or may not even be wearing clothing. New arrivals, investigator or not, are treated like a mix between children and new recruits. There will be expectations that they will find a 'family' and start learning how to contribute to society right away. Investigators can get involved in just about any of the occupations (and could possibly even pose as Seers, if they're willing to come up with 'visions'). The most exclusive, and most difficult to get into, group is the Keepers of History.

Home: The town on the western side of the river! This area includes homes and work areas, plus storage barns. Primary construction is wattle and daub and/or mud-brick over timber frames. Most houses are constructed on raised mounds of earth and stone to avoid being swept away by floods. Houses less than 600 people total, on average.

Fields: Where the Beastfolk grow their crops! And mud. The fields take up almost all of the land between the plateau and the forest that isn't the actual town, or the river. There is a primitive-ish irrigation system (think Ancient Egypt), and fields nearest the river are rice paddies. The fields closest to the town are primarily vegetables. There is a small orchard very close to the forest.

Docks/bay: The place to fish! But they tend to only be found directly in the bay, and not farther out. Natives almost never go past the Gods' Isle, or the islands that form off of the part of the mountain chain that goes into the sea. Mostly calm, and relatively clear water with a steep drop-off, but dangerous storms can sweep in off the ocean beyond sometimes and turn the bay into a death-trap.

River + Delta: As the geographic center of the area, the river is swift, and floods regularly, but then dries almost to a trickle during the drought season. Water must be at least boiled before drinking and even then it'll probably still poison Folk. Has no fish, and very little plant-life upstream, and most of the animals in the delta are either primarily amphibious land creatures retreating to the water, or bay species traveling upstream. Recently a seer was able to provide a way to treat the water and greatly reduce poisoning. The river disappears in a mostly northerly direction into the dunes of the desert, and no one has ever followed it very far. And lived to report, at least.

Northern Spring (Plateau): One of two locations of readily available fresh water, but generally not potable for people (sulfur and other impurities), although not outright toxic. It's located in the center of the plateau. The spring flows year-round, but the stream it feeds dries up in drought season, leaving only a small pool at the font.

North-Eastern Mountains/Plateau: beginning of a mountain range that marches one way north into the desert, and the other into a set of sea caves and islets, and forms the easternmost border of the Folk's lands. The plateau, about halfway up the (accessible) incline, has decent grazing land and the spring, but the weather is very unpredictable. Small sandstorms tend to blow in, and the plant life is a mix of hardy scrub, and wild grasses. There are almost no trees.

Southern Spring (Forest): Here's the fresh, readily drinkable water. It's a precious resource and carefully maintained/guarded. The spring actually flows strongly enough that water can be acquired for all the Folk, but bathing or washing is best left to river water because there isn't that much.

Forest: Mostly concentrated in the west, but also stretches south to the coast of the bay. There's not much to hunt that's worth the risk, but it's a good place to forage and trap the smaller animals. As far as larger creatures, what's there is likely to kill you. The forest houses the spring. The plantlife is vaguely comparable to a tropical seasonal forest, and is seasonally swampy in the lowest dips. The spring is on a hill, and becomes a lively stream descending into one of the seasonal swampy areas--the stream dries up to a tiny trickle in the drought season, but the spring itself never stops flowing completely. No one knows why the stream dries up the way it does when there's almost always (barely) enough water for everyone.

The Wasteland: Southwest, beyond the forest. At the edges of the forest, dead trees and bones have been reported, and further out just appears to to be bare rock and dead earth. Like the desert, Folk who venture into the wasteland almost never come back. Unlike the desert, enough have come back to report that Folk start getting sick past the edge of the forest, and sometimes even before that. Even the hardiest animals avoid the edge of the wasteland.

Great Desert: These dunes surround the area to the north, northeast (where it meets the mountains) and to the west (where it meets the forest). It's said to be completely impassable! Probably. No plant or wildlife whatsoever is present among the sand. Burials are performed along the edges, although the partially mummified remains are taken to Gods' Isle once a year on the Day of Farewells. Folk who go deep into the desert never return. Folk who go after those Folk to rescue them almost never return.

Ocean: While the bay is calm, the ocean rarely is and it will kill if one goes much further out than Gods' Isle. It is full of unpredictable storms and fierce currents, plus the fact that Folk who go out too far get dizzy and experience other signs of illness and disorientation. Luckily, the tides are as likely to push boats back towards the bay as they are to pull them further out to sea, so the ocean has claimed fewer lives than the desert or the wasteland. Still, it's well-known to be very, very dangerous. There are no seabirds or signs of oceanic life except in the bay.

Foundling Island: It's called Gods' Isle by folk, and considered the home of the gods. The most important fact about the island is that this is where foundlings arrive once a cycle. It's full of strange metal structures and blinking lights, with a massive central tower, a courtyard, and then a set of smaller surrounding towers. There is no way to get inside the structures that the natives have found and the assumption is that it grew out of the rocks of an island set there by the gods.

Beastfolk Form: what it says on the tin. (Almost) everyone will have a chance to take this during jaunt, but it will be unobtainable after.

Subsistence Living: Farming: the required knowledge and ability to locate, plant, tend to, and harvest grains, fruits and vegetables in suitable soils… just barely enough for a family. Teachable

Subsistence Living: Fishing: the required ability and knowledge to go out and catch ocean fish with a boat, line and hook, and net. Also includes knowledge of trapping and spear-fishing. Teachable

Subsistence Living: Gathering: the ability and knowledge to go out and locate, identify and pick/harvest wild fruits, seeds, tubers etc. Teachable

Subsistence Living: Hunting/Trapping: specialty is large, difficult to find, or very dangerous game for hunting. Teachable (similar/identical to Wilderness Hunting from Children of the Night jaunt)

Basic Textiles: includes knowledge of how to gather raw materials, spin threads, and then weave/knit them into cloth. Includes basic knowledge of plant-based dyes and dying techniques. Teachable.

Basic Pottery: how to gather raw materials, mix, mold/shape, and fire basic ceramics. Teachable.

Basic Woodworking: Includes knowledge of what trees produce the best wood for which applications, and how to cut, transport, and shape the wood into tools, boats, and housing (among other useful items). Teachable.

Basic Metalworking: mostly tin, copper, and bronze, but with very recent experiments with iron. Skill includes locating ores in the mountains, harvesting/mining, and firing/shaping them in furnace. Also knowledge of how to mix tin and copper into bronze. Teachable

Storytelling/Oral History: the ability to commit to memory long stretches of history, and reliably retell it in an engaging and informative way. Teachable

Secret Skill!: This skill will be teachable and available for skill equivalency post-jaunt, but during the jaunt, knowledge and mastery will be controlled and a jealously guarded secret of a specific group as privileged knowledge. If a player is interested in their infiltrator possibly being a part of this group, please contact the mods/jaunt runners to discuss options.

Human Only Skills: three skills (two T, one S) that will be available only to the small, isolated group of "mythical" human infiltrators during the Jaunt (but fully available after!). Contact the mods/jaunt runners for more info!

Week 1: Foundling Arrival and Festival
Week 2: Naming Ceremony and First Harvests
Week 3: The Ancestor's Festival
Week 4: Very Dangerous Weather
Week 5: Recovery and Day of Farewells
Week 6: Denouement and Return to Liminal

Edited 2019-05-09 04:46 (UTC)

This Jaunt is Bear’s baby and questions should be directed to him. Bii is point mod.

Threaded | Flat

WORLD INFO

BEASTFOLK SPECIES

HEALTH ISSUES

COMMUNITY STRUCTURE

WILDLIFE (AND SELECTED PLANTLIFE)

CASTING CALL

INFILTRATOR GROUPS/ROLES

INVESTIGATOR ROLES

LOCATIONS

SKILLS

CALENDAR

PLAYER RESOURCES

QUESTIONS