Living in Harmony

The two primary species inhabiting Skoria are wolves and humans. The wolves are far more numerous, having been already adapted to the changing world. Humans had their technology and lives ripped away from them and were gradually reduced to bronze-age technology. No more electricity or lush lives for the people in these lands. This means that humans and wolves have had to learn to live side by side without greatly influencing the other. It is common knowledge that both species are needed to help keep balance in the land.

This, of course, means that there are groupings of both wolves and humans that naturally gather across the lands. Both are social species that require interaction with their own kind and constant communication. Wolves are better suited for the elements and humans are better suited for their villages, or for life in Gettysburg. Wolves generally form troops or bands when they reach adulthood, though sometimes the pups will linger and remain a part of the home they were born into. Humans sometimes branch off to form villages or even roam as singular nomads. Small villages are not as safe as Gettysburg and nomads are at even greater risk.

Wolf Packs, Troops, & Loners

Living as a loner...
Lone wolves are at a much greater risk for disease and danger than are wolves in troops or packs. Wolves living on their own have no one to hunt for them if they are sick. They are susceptible to predator attack, infection, and the elements. This means that lone wolves will have more risk rolls than wolves who are part of a troop or pack. While your character can join as a loner or remain as a loner for an infinite amount of time, you must be understanding that things happen to lone wolves that could end up being fatal if not properly worked with. The staff would never outright kill a wolf but if your wolf gets an infection and you refuse to seek help, then they may progress into death. This is listed here because it is far more important for lone wolves to remain healthy than group wolves.

Loners can live where they like and have dens in any area they like that is not already a claimed territory. However, lone wolves are at risk if they linger in one place for too long. Other wolves and animals may find them a threat and without other wolves to help protect them, they are at risk while at rest too. Therefore it is better for lone wolves to have several dens across various regions so that they have a safe place to be while they are on the move. Though they can defend their dens, they do not leave scent markers to mark out their home. That would draw unwanted attention to them. Therefore, lone wolves do not have their own territory.

Living in a troop...
Troop wolves are generally on the move a lot as well. The only difference is that they have other wolves to keep them company. A troop consists of 2-4 wolves who work together to bring down prey, care for one another, and generally cooperate with one another. Troop wolves are generally wolves who get along and who have either known each other a long time or who have something in common. In desperate times wolves will often form temporary troops to provide them security until situations improve. Troops, though a bit safer than loners, are still susceptible to infection and the dangers of the elements. However, they are more capable of fighting off predators. A troop of wolves can not claim territory, though they can have a couple of den sites for safety much as lone wolves can. Troops can expand into packs if they gain five or more members, but packs who drop to 4 members or less are instantly demoted to a troop.

Living in a pack...
Wolves who live in packs are, of course, the most privileged. These wolves have a steady home in which they live. They no longer have to roam the lands in order to feel safe and avoid hardship. They have pack mates they can rely on and generally someone in the pack knows enough to help them heal their injuries more quickly. Pack wolves, though still susceptible to risk-rolls, are far more equipped to handle whatever comes at them due to their numbers. Packs consist of 5 or more wolves. Any pack that loses enough members to drop below 5 is downgraded to a troop and will have to pay the fee to be a pack again when they gain more members. Packs also lose their territory after a week if they do not find more wolves to help them sustain it.

A pack can claim land that covers a small area. Pack lands can be in only one region or overlap into neighboring regions. Starting out, a pack must be situated in only one region. Packs start off with 30 square miles though the territory does not necessarily have to be square. Territories are generally drawn on the map with the color of your choosing by an administrator so that there is a visual of what territory they occupy. Anyone who invades a territory, wolf or not, is subject to being attacked. Please be sure to read the sticky in the pack's designated sub-board to understand how the pack handles intruders before making a thread there. You do not have to post in a territory to join the pack. That is invasion! Instead, post in the accompanying region. As an example: If a pack resides in Morrison Crater you do not need to create a thread in their territory board; a thread within Morrison Crater is enough.

Whether or not you have to join in-character is up to the players running the packs. Some packs will require in-character joining and others will not. Please speak with the players of the alpha wolves and establish how the wolves met if you are bypassing the in-character joining. This way there is a feasible explanation as to why your wolf jas joined that pack.

Note that territories are huge. Your wolf can not be everywhere at once. That said, it is acceptable for the alphas of a pack to slightly bend the time-constraint rules within their own territories to properly fend off intruders. So long as their last thread was within their own territory or happened within a time frame that would allow them to get home, they are capable of defending you. That said, we encourage pack wolves to remain in or close to their territory unless they are: hunters, scouts, or foragers. There is no point in being a part of a pack if your wolf is never going to be around. If you are found with wolves that roam all over the countryside without going home then your wolf will be demoted to a loner.

Humans in Gettysburg & Villages

Living in Gettysburg
Humans in Skoria generally live in Gettysburg, where things are readily at hand. Gettysburg is more secure than the outside world because of its structure. Because there are other humans living here, a single individual is more likely to survive hardships which may include famine, animal attacks, severe weather, or other unsavory conditions. Because of the size of the city, Gettysburg is fairly well secured against animal attacks and the elements and it is a sturdier place to live than other locations.

People in Gettysburg are, with a few exceptions, locked in a bronze age technology phase. Weapons are more crude than they had been before the virus broke out. There are no guns in Skoria, as the art of making them by hand has been lost and the people are generally peaceful and do not want to see a rise in firearms. They remember the days the firearms were used against their own kind.

Humans may still have some "modern" belongings, such as clothes that reflected the time the virus broke out. Humans, therefore, may be dressed however the player prefers. The humans in Skoria are able to make most things they need to survive, including but not limited to bathing essentials, tools, and homes.

Gettysburg has a series of farms to provide the people who live there with food. It also has small steet markets. There is no monetary system. Instead the people use a system of bartering what they feel is fair. All humans are encouraged to take on a craft so that they are able to support themselves and their families.

These trades/jobs are generally chosen at a young age either by the individual or the family group. These may include but are not limited to: farmer, fisherman, tailor, smithy, priest, and a series of other skill sets. While Gettysburg has priests and other religious figures, there is no single established religion and many people do not align with one.

Humans living in villages
Occasionally a small group of people will branch off to form their own village. These villages are at much more risk due to being so small with so few people in them for defense. However, villages are not as endangered as Nomads. Villagers will be able to handle most risk rolls, depending upon the response of the villagers. So long as injured villagers seek medical help, they are generally able to recover from injury with only slightly increased chances of infection.

Villages may try to fend entirely for themselves or may barter and trade with other villages or Gettysburg. Generally villagers do not have jobs like residents of Gettysburg, instead, they have a series of tasks that each villager must perform. Usually these tasks are given by the village leader. Villagers work together to ensure tasks are complete and the village thrives.

Each village must be built by the villagers. This is done in a founding thread started by the village leader. Actual building does not have to be played out but there should be reference to planning out the layout and assigning villager tasks and ranks. The villagers can be reclusive or welcoming - not all villages will be friendly and each village will have a right to defend their homes.

Villages start out with about one square mile of space and can expand outward as they gain members. If a village drops below 5 members, all members are demoted to nomads unless they join another village or return to Gettysburg. A village has a one week grace period before this happens and the village disbanded.

Humans living as Nomads

On very rare occasions a human may leave to live on their own or in a traveling group of up to 4 members. These individuals are known as nomads. Nomads live largely on their own with limited contact with villages or Gettysburg. Nomads are at a greater danger of failing risk rolls due to higher susceptibility to infection, disease, etc. Due to their susceptible nature, nomads must remain on the move so as to keep themselves as safe as possible.

Nomads, if injured, need to seek the healing aid of a village or Gettysburg. Nomads who know how to heal may also be consulted, however a nomad cannot heal themselves of moderate or worse wounds, they may make the situation worse based on assumption.

In addition, nomads can choose to live alone and free-roaming for all of their lives. However, due to the increased risk, it is recommended that they at least live in a village instead of abroad. Like lone wolves, nomads are susceptible to many risks that those living in groups are not.

This also means that nomads must kill their own meat and must trade for plants that would be found only through agriculture, such as corn or tomatoes. This produce must be bartered for from other villages or from Gettysburg. Other forms of edible plants that can be found in the wild are acceptable as food sources but it is difficult for Nomads to build up a stock of them. Please be sure to refer to the Flora & Fauna page for more information on the plants and animals they may encounter naturally.

And finally, nomads are generally less clean and tidy than are those who live in groups. They are also generally less educated because they do not live in a position where they can stop to learn how to take on a specific craft or job. Their main purpose is to survive, not to have a job. The only exception to this is characters who had already learned a craft before leaving to become a nomad.