Human

This page is a work in progress; more info will be added, and some details may change.

The Pure Bloods
Pure blood humans are still the most common type of folk encountered in the lost frontier. Though the coming of the outsiders affected a great many people, most people escaped being directly meddled with.

Most humans call one of the 14 stockade cities home. Though the land east of the Missussip got the worst of Hell on Earth by far, there was no part of the continent that went unaffected. The California Crossover Fault was a tiny crack compared with the gaping doorways of the east coast, but it belched out enough outsiders to force anyone who wanted to live to head inland. At the same time, refugees from the east sloughed across the Big Muddy in huge numbers.

People gravitated toward each other in that time, seeking safety in numbers. The stockade cities went up one by one as groups of weary survivors found suitably defensible locations. Some were made up primarily of frontier folk, some of refugees. Most were populated by a mixture of both. Fears were understandably high, and those that bore any hint of outsider touch were forcibly removed, or killed in one of the countless witch hunts that took place in those dark days.

The Stockades have grown in size and stability since then, but one thing has remained the same: they are populated almost exclusively by pure blood humans.

After nearly a century and a half of hiding, the undying human thirst for exploration and adventure has begun to reassert itself. As time passed and the dangers of the frontier became somewhat more manageable, more and more folk have ventured back out to begin the work of taming the land. Some go because they hear the call of the wind that blows the tall grass; others to seek out fame and fortune. Still others are forced out when the hand of the law or of Lady Luck has turns against them.

Appearance
Humans are as varied in appearance as ever - hair, eyes, height, weight, and other attributes run the gamut. Most humans have pale skin, though other shades are not uncommon. Those with black skin are the least common, though the history books say this was not always so.

Stockade Society
Those that hail from one of the 14 stockade cities tend to be more educated and less hardy than those that survived Hell on Earth outside stockade walls. Though the stockade cities pale in comparison to the great old cities of the east, they are the closest thing the Lost Frontier has to civilization. And if there's one idea that unites most stockade folk, it's that the Lost Frontier needs more civilization.

While the stockade cities do represent humanity's best attempt to reestablish civilization, they were all founded on fear of outsiders. Though not all humans believe the touched races and the timmen are on the side of the demons, most at least entertain the possibility. Though one or two of the stockades has slowly begun to tolerate trade with other races, most stand categorically against integration.

As the stockades begin to expand into the frontier, they bring their pure blood fears and hatreds with them. Many humans see the touched and the timmen as nothing more than additional obstacles in the path of settling the Lost Frontier. Bounties are regularly paid for the scalps of touched folk - ostensibly only those touched with records of crimes against humans, but in reality very few questions are asked about exactly whose heads they come from. Timmen do not have scalps, per se, but they do have several internal parts that are both unique to their construction and only accessible after death.

There are certainly individual pure bloods who do not hold to this ideas, but they are sadly the exception that proves the rule.

Humans living in the stockades pursue all manner of trades - blacksmiths, shopkeepers, inventors, entrepreneurs, shysters, criminals, doctors, scientists, journalists, etc. etc. Most of these are comfortable with their lives and rarely leave the stockades, but some are driven to pursue a destiny beyond the walls.

Other human societies
Though the vast majority of humans will name one of the stockades as their home (even if they haven't been there for many years), there are a few communities that survived outside.

Most notably, the Freemen (the history books call them "Indians," though exactly why is a mystery) tribes suffered horrendous losses as their native lands turned against them. But they are a hardy folk, and quick to adapt. It seems they survived largely by being constantly on the move, never staying in one place long enough for enemies or predators to gather against them. While some have grown bitter and disenchanted with the spirits of the land, many remain faithful to their old ways.

Compared to stockade folk, those that hail from frontier communities tend to lead simpler, more brutal lives. They are used to being dealt bad hands, and have learned to make the best of it.

Most have little time or patience for concepts of racism or sexism, instead recognizing that every surviving person is a valuable resource. Outsider touched may be regarded with initial caution, but frontier folk tend to place more weight on a person's actions than on their heritage. As to the timmen, most frontier folk welcome them into their communities, recognizing in the metal men a desire for independence and adventure that is similar to their own.

Frontier folk tend live off the land, or occasionally off those who live off the land. Ranchers, farmers, self-appointed lawmen, bounty hunters, trackers, trappers, miners, trail hands, cowboys, and more recently blood metal prospectors make up the bulk of these folk.

A handful of other communities do exist, though most are too small to merit notice. There is one significant exception: The Mormons, who arrived in northern Utah sometime before the breach. They woke up one morning in 1884 to find their whole settlement had moved hundreds of miles south overnight - the largest recorded example of one of the nastier tricks the Breach played on the land during Hell on Earth. The doors to their City of Salt remain firmly shut to all but a few, and only rarely is one of their member spotted outside its walls.

Desperados
Pure blood humans are the most versatile of the races. No Outsider sought to twist them into specialized servants, and they are able to adapt themselves effectively (if not spectacularly) to nearly any line of work. A few pure bloods show ability with blood metals, though allomancy and ferrochemy are at best frowned upon by most pure bloods, and outright banned in the stockades. Humans have a huge variety of strengths, weaknesses, and backgrounds, and as such can fill any role in a group.