It's said that the Far Lone Isle was once not alone, that it was several smaller islands.  But when the great catastrophe came, and the oceans boiled, skies blazed and continents buckled... the land heaved and rose, and the isles were one.  Larger than they used to be, combined.

It was said that before, the isles were a wildlife research station, or perhaps a weather outpost.  Nobody alive knows for sure. The oldest structures on the isle are several houses near the highest hill, and a tower atop the peak.  Once a lighthouse, the tower is now used by the village shaman as a place of Seeing, while the ancient houses below shelter the village elders.



The shore of the Isle is rocky and steep-cliffed, with no sandy beaches.



On the southeastern shore, the rested hulk of an impossibly large ship lies as a breaker against the waves.  It's said that a good many of The People once fled the apocalypse and took shelter here, traveling aboard that wreck.



The island is about 5.6 miles by 2.2 miles, roughly 9 square miles in area.  The coast is rocky and uneven and there are high hills followed by deep jungle-filled valleys in the interior.  If the coast had a paved road ringing it, you could walk the perimeter in about 6 hours.  But, it doesn't. The northwestern shore is Taboo, but has been seen at a distance by fishing canoes while out harvesting their catch.

There is only one major settlement on the Isle.  It's near the southeastern shore, not far from the rusted hulk of the old ship that legend says bore the survivors of the apocalypse to this lonely isle.  There are small fishing camps other places on the coast, and a few hunting lodges in the interior.  There are a few outcasts who may live in the wilds.  But there are no other major settlements. The population isn't precisely counted, but numbers roughly 400.



The player characters would all at least know OF each other, having grown up and around the same settlement. They may travel in different circles, of course, as not everyone is a fisherman or a farmer. Some mutations are generational, while others are new.  For example, there is a family of stormcallers on the Isle that can summon or modify the weather.

The waters surrounding the Isle are replete with fish, and also dangerous sharks. There are a great variety of sea birds that nest in the rocks and cliffs as well. Despite the dangers, the village depends on the sea for life, and fishing is a ritual part of life.



Dotting the sea near the coasts are several smaller islets - essentially rock formations in the ocean, but home to birds and sea mammals.



Inbetween the rocky cliffs, hills and small mountains, there lies a valley of tropical trees, replete with streams and life.



The northwestern portion of the island is Taboo - forbidden for The People to travel.  The Elders speak of Death that lives there.  The tropical forest that lays between that area and the village grows progressively more wild and twisted the farther north you go, and the creatures there increasingly dangerous.

The northwest-most corner of the island is considered Taboo as taught to the characters from a very early age, usually coming down from the village Shaman.  It's said that it is a great place of death, and even now strange 'color storms' sometimes occur at night in that region that can be seen from a distance, that defy any weather-controlling attempts by Deker's ancestors. Legends speak of terrible mutants that prowl the jungle and shores therein.

Parents teach their children as they themselves were taught, and so it is more of a social moray.  There have been cases of youth breaking Taboo and venturing into the forbidden land, but none have ever returned that you know of.

Likewise, legend tells of those - generations past - that left the Isle, intent on returning to the great land to the east.  Even now, on a clear day, the shadowed silhouettes of the bones of the Ancients can be seen on the shoreline some 50 kilometers away.  This is more certain than the Taboo lands - NONE have ever returned.  The last such party left in your grandparents' time.

Mutant powers do indeed affect the survivability of the village. The player characters are assumed to be among the most 'gifted' of the village - not all mutants are created equal in terms of gifts.  Instead of a third eye or a purple mane instead of hair (although you could have that too!), the PCs have more useful mutations than is average. Most of the human population are mutants.  Occasionally - rarely - a human child is born that lacks gifts.  This child is often pitied and patronized, but not hated or feared.  It's simply "Unlucky" - and is referred to as such.

All of the (sentient) animals of the village are mutants.  There ARE 'normal' animals - dogs, pigs, and plenty of birds of all types.  The Isle is also frequented by seals, which of course is part of why it's surrounded by sharks.

The village Shaman is said to be the keeper of the Old Lore - Ancient books and such, which must have come aboard the rusting hulk of a ship on the southeastern shore (if the legends are true). The village Elders consult with him on any important manners, and in his Seeing Place (the old abandoned lighthouse atop the highest peak) he reads portents and omens using the Ancient knowledge.

Most of the village is taught basic literacy.  Few have the time or inclination to take it further.

It is said that the first settlers on the Isle after the Apocalypse were all "Unlucky", and had no gifts.  They struggled to survive, and many did not.  Their population was said to be many times that of what the Village has now. The next generation was rife with "Accursed" - those with horrible defects that made survival difficult and unpleasant, if not impossible.  Over time, the "People" came to be, along with the mutant, sentient animals that came from their original guardians - hence known as the "Guardians".

Every now and then, an "Accursed" is born even now - but it doesn't usually live long.  Fortunately.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:53, Wed 30 Sept 2020.