Salvage

• Supernatural Powers: All non-mastery, non-concealed Powers must be obviously supernatural when activated or grant a mutation that marks the wielder as supernatural or bizarre if discovered.

It went by many names, but by far the most common was "Calamity".

Post-Holocene Revival

The Holocene Epoch gave birth to many catastrophes: the advent of nuclear warfare, the Holocene mass extinction, and—perhaps most notably—the first climate apocalypse. Human innovation created luxuries and opportunities, but it carried with it a slow death—one made of natural disasters, increasing economic inequality, and ecological decline, among other things. It's no wonder that, when resources became scarce and it seemed death was inevitable, societies turned on each other in a desperate bid for survival.

It's been over a millennium since then.

Probably more.

Scientists from around the world only recently re-established contact with one another, corroborating sources and sharing technology in hopes of figuring out just how humans survived. It took a long time for people to realize that tales of a globalized human population were more than just myths, and an even longer time for them to develop the technology needed to re-establish those connections.

Eventually, though, through shared curiosity and sheer willpower, the first globalized scientific institution was born.

Contemporary Life

The founding of the International Institute of Science ushered in a new era—the Neo-Post-Classical Period.

With access to their predecessors' reconstructed technology, IIS members gained a new understanding of their world

However, the international sphere comprises less than five percent of all societies on Earth. Most people live in relatively isolated communities, connected to other places through trade routes and little else. Digital technology is scarce, concentrated in secretive sites known as Hubs, and stable governments are even scarcer. Many people fear innovation due to the efforts of the Anti-Technology League, and disease, famine, and warfare run rampant.

Paranormal Activity

Since the Calamity, supernatural phenomena have become increasingly more common. Scientists are re-evaluating the definition of "natural", citing excess energy from imbalanced biogeochemical cycles or lingering radiation from humanity's dying throes as the source of these occurrences.

They're not wrong.

People are born with unexplainable powers almost every other week. Ordinary objects warp and twist until their properties are nothing short of magical. Communities located on former battlegrounds and nuclear testing sites have it the worst, bearing witness to feathered apparitions and crystalline juggernauts; molten rain and trees made of tar.

But people must carry on. 

The Contract

Some say there's a figure who treads the ground between "spirit" and "human". They snatch babies from their bedding, lead children astray, and beckon even adults to join them in the shadows. They can appear in many places at once, and even take on but they always introduce themselves by the same name: Omen.

No matter how well-protected or socially-isolated, all communities have been affected by the Omen.

Contractors & GMs

Factions

The International Institute of Science (IIS) is an organization dedicated to

• Why did you join the Institute?
  • Do you wish to unravel the mystery of humanity's survival?
  • Do you think there's more to the so-called "paranormal" than your predecessors believe?
  • Do you seek access to coveted equipment not available anywhere else?
• Who is your mentor?
  • Are they still alive?
  • Are you still in contact?
  • How do their beliefs differ from yours?
•  

On the other hand, the Anti-Technology League (ATL) seeks to. Though the IIS often paints them as a unified syndicate which looks to halt human progress altogether, they are, in reality, more akin to an alliance of loosely-organized groups with a shared goal.

Minor factions, such as the Ravagers of North Camden (W. Pennsauken Township, NJ, USA) and Coroza's Silent Hunt (S. Salvador, Bahia, Brazil), may exist entirely within one area or community. GMs are encouraged to create their own communities and factions, but remember that not everything will align with the contemporary world.

Example Minor Factions

The Ravagers of North Camden are a gang originally formed to consolidate power and money in a violent neighborhood. Its territory has since expanded, now spanning the entirety of North Camden and the dredges of South Camden (N. Camden, NJ), where they've formed a more-or-less stable—albeit authoritarian—government. They often get into territory disputes with South Camden's Hooks.

• Why did you join the Ravagers?
  • Is it a family business?
  • Are you being threatened? Blackmailed? Peer-pressured?
  • Do you seek revenge—or explanations—for an event in your past?

The Silent Hunt of Coroza is a secret society based upon three tenants: freedom of knowledge, insignificance of wealth, and openness of the mind. Coroza's government is highly isolationist, and prevents communication with other communities in the name of keeping its citizens safe. This same attitude obstructs trade and cultural exchange, and allows those in power disproportionate control over the economy. The Silent Hunt aims to abolish this government, and instate a new one that promotes communication and learning.

• How devoted are you to the cause?
  • Are you willing to smuggle? Kidnap? Kill?
  • Do you harbor doubts about your organization's goals? Its leaders?
  • What opened your eyes to your government's propaganda?

"Let it be known that all things are uncertain—that every plan is fallible."

—Lei Nyugen, founder of the International Institute of Science