Hider Culture
Hiders are hard to find, and that's by intent; they just don't want to be found. As a result, there's very little uniform that can be said about this culture, because so little is known about them - in a sense, they're just as isolated as the other major cultures on this list, but only because they chose to be, rather than as a result of the location that they chose to live being difficult to reach, although very often that's the case as well - it's easy to hide in a place where few people want to bother looking to begin with, and they take full advantage of this.
Where hiders liveHiders live just about everywhere, with one common universal being that they avoid planets where people are more likely to settle. This means that hiders are rarely found on earth-like or ocean worlds, and instead prefer to settle on rocky worlds. Given the scales of solar systems, hiders often seek out refuge in the outer rim, often in the Kuiper and Oort clouds that frame the star system, or if they can, on rogue planets that are travelling through a system - the whole point of Hiders is to never be found, as the name might imply.
Hiders show a preference for icy bodies, and as a result, they're often called Plutonians or Orcans, although these are antiquated terminology; few hiders live on Pluto, which is a highly cosmopolitan world, and on Orcus, which is a a similarly cosmopolitan world, anymore. If they hid within the well, they often select vulcanoids or asteroids, leading them to resemble belters or even solarians. When they hide on gas giants, they resemble skimmers. However, the primary focus with hiders aren't worlds at all; it's icy comets and and debris scattered through a system. After all, planets are easy to find. But searching through billions of comets to find them? That's a task that would take even the most powerful and sophisticated AGI centuries to accomplish. |
Hider cultural TraditionsGiven the diverse array of individuals who become hiders, there's little that can be said uniform about any cultural traditions - but little doesn't mean "none." They live in hostile environments that breed certain cultural habits and traditions out of sheer survival necessity, many of which overlap with spacers, solarians, and skimmers. The one thing that separates them from all those other groups is that they are willingly exiled and they don't want to be found - those other groups may have chosen hard places to live, but they still maintain contact with the outside world. Hiders do not. Other cultural traditions shared between them include:
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Who Hiders Are
Hiders are among the least uniform of the various major cultural groups, and this is because the life of a hider isn't for everyone and any "cultural similarities" that arise from hiders are as a result, almost exclusively, of their environments of choice - the deepness of space, hiding in the dark between the stars. Groups become hiders for any number of reasons - to escape from governments so they can establish their own communities, because they just want to be left alone, because they're a radical social experiment and would face persecution, or because they're a legitimate threat to society and they don't want to be found. Hinders include such diverse groups as hostile, anti-human AGIs; Sufi and Christian mystics; utopian cults and new religions; various weird social movements that are weird even by the standards of the Verge and Bleed; those who were scared of the god AIs and wanted to try and escape them; those who are looking to evade surveillance and the government; those who are certain that there's an upcoming war with the aliens and want to survive; or just social eccentrics who don't want to play with anyone and would just like to be left alone. Hider groups are often confused with backgrounders - the two are close cousins and there is significant overlap, although hiders are generally fixed to one location, where backgrounders, being a type of spacer, are always on the move. The one thing that unites all these groups is deliberate isolation in a hostile universe, hiding out in the dark between the stars. The most famous Hider culture is the Exeat Stellar Nation, although Hider cultures on that scale are relatively rare.
Despite being as varied as they are, a number of traits wind up repeating through the Hider culture; this is one of the reasons why they are considered a loosely unified culture, and so individuals who are experienced with a Hider culture are usually caught off guard by just how similar another Hider culture is, even if it has a totally different set of religious or philosophical beliefs. That said, no one uniform thing can be said about Hider culture fashion and food, other than that it tends to be regimented and controlled by the leader of the habitat ∎
Despite being as varied as they are, a number of traits wind up repeating through the Hider culture; this is one of the reasons why they are considered a loosely unified culture, and so individuals who are experienced with a Hider culture are usually caught off guard by just how similar another Hider culture is, even if it has a totally different set of religious or philosophical beliefs. That said, no one uniform thing can be said about Hider culture fashion and food, other than that it tends to be regimented and controlled by the leader of the habitat ∎
Hider Culture Template . . . 20 points
Advantages and Perks
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Two of G-Experience (Any) [5], Improved G-Tolerance (0.03G) [5], Radiation Tolerance 2 [5], or 5-point talent [5] ● 25 points from among points from among the previous or from among ST +1 to +2 [10/level], DX +1 [20], IQ+1 [20], Per+1 to +4 [5/level], Will +1 to +4 [5/level], HP +1 to +4 [2/level], Basic Move +1 [5], Basic Speed +0.25 [5/level], 3D Spatial Sense [10] or Absolute Direction [5], AI Empathy [5], Animal Friend [5/level], Animal Empathy [5], Biografts (Any) [Varies], Common Sense [10], Cybernetics (Any) [Varies], Doodads [1/level], Empathy [15] or Sensitive [5], Fearlessness [2/level], Gizmos [5/level], High Manual Dexterity 1-2 [5/level], Plant Empathy [5], Rapid Healing [5], Resistant (Single Colony World Hazard) [5], Single-Minded [5], or 10 points in any talent [10] ● Any three of the following Perks: Compact Frame, Dabbler (any eight skills), Efficient (Skill), Focused (Task), Hyperspecialization (Skill), or Teamwork (Skill).
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Disadvantages and Quirks
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-30 points from among Addiction [Varies], Alcoholism [-5*], Bully [-10*], Combat Paralysis [-15*], Delusions (about the way the world works) [-5 to -10], Disciplines of Faith (Ritualism or Mysticism) [-5 to -10], Duty (Organization, 9 or less) [-5], Enemy [Varies], Gullibility [-10*], Incurious [-5*], Insomniac [-10 to -15], Jealousy [-10], Kleptomania [-15*], Lecherousness [-15*], Loner [-5*], Low Empathy [-20], Low TL [-5], Miserliness [-10*], Overconfidence [-5*], Pacifism [Varies], Sense of Duty (Organization or Group) [-5], Social Stigma (Uncultured Rube) [-5] or (Minority Group) [-5], Stubbornness [-5], or Workaholic [-5] ● Three of Bioconservative, Congenial, Dress Code (Cultural Zone), Ideology (Off-the-wall ideology), Methodical, Nosy, Organized, Proud, Religious (Any), Shocking Affectation (Any), Technoprogressive, or Token (Any).
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Primary Skills
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Computer Operations and Spacer, both (E) IQ [1]-10; Electronics Operation (Sensors) (A) IQ [2]-10; Research (A) IQ [2]-10 ● 6 points in any IQ/A, IQ/H, or IQ/VH skill.
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Secondary and Background Skills
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Five of Electrician, Electronics Operation (Any), Electronics Repair (Any), Free Fall, Freight Handling, Merchant, or Mechanic (Any), all (A) IQ-1 [1]-9; Driving (Any), Boating (Any), or Piloting (Any), both (A) DX-1 [1]-9; Mathematics (Any) or Sociology, both (H) IQ-2 [1]-8; First Aid (E) IQ [1]-10; or two points in any primary skill.
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Features
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Cultural Familiarity (Cultural Zone), Language (Home Language, Native), and Home Gravity (Any)
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