Husker

Huskers (also known as Listeners, Hollow-Men, and Those-Who-See-More) are a subspecies of human that emerged from their fallout shelters, only to wander into the build their homes within the exclusion zones of the world; often places where the bombs hit directly during the nuclear apocalypse. They are often distinguished by their spindly physique, ashy skin, and strange traditions.

Huskers typically live in small nomadic tribes that wander the wasteland, though there are hidden societies of them located among the many exclusion zones of the wasteland. Many people in the wasteland know of the huskers only through tales of mysticism and occultism, as the Huskers typically keep to themselves. This is not to say they are in any sense xenophobic or closeted; many husker tribes have been known to welcome outsiders with open arms, as their main source of food and water comes from trade.

Huskers are a very spiritual people; most belonging to some sect of an esoteric religion that worships a entity or force known as the Wasteland Spirit. Every husker wears a personalized gas mask, known as a pneuma, which they are given once they reach adulthood. An individual's pneuma allegedly acts as a tie between them and the Wasteland Spirit, granting them the ability to manipulate the world around them. Many question the legitimacy of these powers, but only the Huskers know the truth.

Biology
Huskers appear to be thin humans with noticeably spindly limbs and cracked ashen skin, often dotted with boils and calluses from frequent exposure to radiation. Their faces are much like any other human, but gaunt and pale, as they wear their pneumas for nearly their entire lives. Their eyes are often bloodshot and their veins are typically prominent due to high use of chemical substances, which play a large part in their culture.

Huskers have an uncanny resistance to radiation. Believed to have been an effect of being exposed to gradual amounts of radiation during their everyday life, huskers are capable of entering the dead zones of exclusion zones for roughly 2 hours without suffering from radiation poisoning. Additionally, they rarely develop tumors at the rate that the average human would when exposed to radiation. It should be noted, however, that huskers are still vulnerable to radiation burn, which can prove especially devastating to them due to their fragile skin.

Huskers often have very little body hair, and do not grow any facial hair. Their few body hairs often come in a silvery color, though there are reports of huskers with black or brown hairs. Being such a rare sight in the wasteland, the fine details of husker biology and anatomy is mostly unknown. There aren't many people in the wasteland who have seen beneath a husker's mask; much less anyone who's seen a living husker's face. Typically, the mask is left on following the death of an individual, though there are those who's masks are removed by looters upon finding their corpse. Huskers who live their lives with a connection to the Wasteland Spirit will die within several hours if they remove their pneuma, often of organ failure.

Huskers have been known to eat many strange things, including irradiated insects that are found commonly in exclusion zones. When eating, they lift their masks to reveal their mouths. More devout huskers will only use chemical stimulants to provide nutrients, though they often live much shorter and more miserable lives than their peers.

It is not known what the maximum lifespan of a husker is, as many die as martyrs to the wasteland; sacrificing themselves in times of distress. Many believe that huskers can live up to 150 years based on estimates, but there are those who claims to have been alive long before the nuclear apocalypse (or as they call it, "The Night of Red Suns").

Culture
Main article: Husker Culture

Husker culture revolves around worshiping the force known as the Wasteland Spirit. This force is apparently present in all things, and was introduced to the world following the apocalypse. With the destruction of society as it's catalyst, the Wasteland Spirit has many motives and goals; though none are so simple as to be explained in the words of men. A universal belief of the huskers is that the reintroduction of the human race and the unknown is one to be explored and celebrated; not feared. There are many sects of this order, all with seemingly different personal goals.

When a husker is born, they are given a leather gas mask that is blessed by their tribe Augur. This mask is replaced by a larger mask as the child grows, blessed again each time, until they reach adulthood. On this day, they are sent on a pilgrimage to one of the exclusion zones to meet with one of the larger husker tribes. The journey is often long and perilous, and teaches them to embrace the wasteland and to keep their eyes full of wonder. Once the young husker arrives at their destination, they are greeted by the Augurs of their new tribe, who help them craft their own mask. This final mask is known as a pneuma, and represents a husker's connection to the Wasteland Spirit. From this point, the husker is free to either stay with their new tribe, or go off an create their own. The latter is a much more common, as by this point the husker will have a thirst for knowledge outside their tribe.

The use of hallucinogenic substances is common in husker society, as they believe it allows one to navigate the wasteland of their own minds; coming closer to the Wasteland Spirit. A common drug is known as Jambi, which causes vivid hallucinations when inhaled through a gas mask. The ingredients used in Jambi are unknown to all but the highest husker mystics, so many outsiders will look to them for a high.

When a husker dies and they have a companion to collect their remains, their pneuma is either worn by their oldest child, or buried with the husker. Husker burials are quite interesting in themselves, as most tribes believe that an individual should be buried at their place of birth. However, since huskers are a largely nomadic people, this is not always possible. Instead, a husker is asked to search their thoughts for their "sacred burial place"; hopefully telling a friend before they pass. Once they are deceased, their remains (along with the pneuma) are buried at the described location. These locations are often very cryptic, leading to great journeys in themselves.

Huskers believe that highly-irradiated locations grant greater access to the unknown. A common topic among husker society are "zone anomalies", which are strange occurrences and entities that exist within the deepest parts of exclusion zones. These anomalies can range from spatial oddities and bent laws of nature, to imperceptible monsters and the wandering spirits of those who died during the apocalypse. These anomalies are rare, but huskers seek them out in search of intrigue and answers.

Language
Being very reclusive, huskers do not typically learn the common languages of the outside world until they are much older. The common husker language is collectively known as Sandspeak, and is a very complex language consisting of many hisses and very few hard consonants. While there are thousand of dialects spoken across the wasteland by the countless husker tribes, huskers from different walks of life can often understand one another despite the language barrier. Sandspeak is very hard to learn, especially to outsiders, as the words and rules of the language are strewn with cultural and historical references.

Many huskers that travel beyond the exclusion zones tend to pick up several languages in order to better communicate with the people they meet on their journeys. They will often learn the primary language of the region they are in, but will often pick up some variation of the Nomad language.

Pneumatic Invocation
Main article: Pneumatic Invocation

While connected to the Wasteland Spirit, Huskers can draw upon the energy of the wasteland using strange rituals to manipulate the world around them. In an almost magical display of focus, an individual can cause strange occurrences (not dissimilar to a zone anomaly) that seemingly bend the fabric of the world around them. Common themes include changing the weather, miraculously healing ill or injured creatures, causing plants to grow rapidly, and even bringing individuals back from death. However, with this power comes those that seek to abuse it, and there are stories of wicked and powerful Huskers summoning plagues and firestorms. Overall, pneumatic invocation is a very complex and weird topic outside Husker society.

Statistics

 * Husker: Race (1e)
 * Husker: Bestiary (1e)
 * Husker Mystic: Bestiary (1e)
 * Husker Augur: Bestiary (1e)