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Sig
I'm trying to start/play a character as a member of the Humanis Policlub, but I haven't been able to find any kind of real info on them. If anyone could direct me to a site with info on the Policlub I'd be very grateful. Thanks all, stay frosty!
Tanka
So you want to play a member of one of the most violent, racist groups in the UCAS? (Well, that's publicly "accepted," at least.)

Well. They hate anything not mundane human. They use any instance they can to kill non-mundane humans ("But Officer! He was sharpening those knives awfully threateningly.") or harass them to no end.

Pretty much, take the KKK and multiply it a few dozen times and make it "publicly cool."
Jrayjoker
Set it up so that the hierarchy's identity is hidden from the membership, and set up cells in all the major cities that have communication but no knowledge of the other groups' membership or illegal works.
Bigity
Actually, on the face, Humanis is not violent or racist. They are merely "pro-human", and seek to protect the rights of regular joe humans from those metahumans who are stealing jobs (who wants to hire a puny human for warehouse work when a troll can do the same job...without a forklift), being too beautiful (elves), or whatever percieved vice people can think of blaming somebody else for.

Alamos 20k is the violent front of Humanis, as in they do all the dirty work.

Outside of the shadows, the average person (at least human) thinks Humanis isn't so bad, which is something they probably go to great, great lengths to protect.

People in the shadows know better though.
Tanka
Eh, not so much. The riots outside of Ghoultown weren't so much Alamos but more Humanis-fronted (publicly and privately).

Humanis can be quite violent -- when the time calls.

'Sides, I don't think a member of Humanis would last long in the shadows. They'd either see the error of their ways or die messily.
mfb
i disagree, if only because having all Humanis runners die quickly makes for a much prettier, nicer SR than i prefer.
Nikoli
Just wait ill you get an orc street doc and he see's the humanis medallion
Crimsondude 2.0
Why? So you can rp the experience of him disregarding it because money's money?
Tanka
Even ork street docs won't do certain things for money. While money is good, being able to tell your other clients that you won't help a Humanis member generally puts you in better standing with the (meta)humans that hate Humanis.
mfb
i don't think most street docs can afford to turn down a paying customer. not only that, but some of those street docs might even take their oaths seriously. besides, Humanis and orks have one thing in common: numbers. not caring for that one Humanis will more than likely bring the rest down on your head. your friends might avenge you, sure, but that's not going to make you any less dead. i don't see most ork street docs turning down someone just because they're Humanis.
Garland
But maybe the rent's come due, or the Yaks are coming around to hit him up for protection money, or with this payment he could afford that <expensive medical gear> he's had his eye on, or his own litter of kids all have the neo-chicken pox (or whatever) and need meds he can't get ahold of without a little cred. Or maybe it's just that the patient's Humanis buddies are in the waiting room reloading their guns.

There are all kinds of reasons for the ork street doc to knuckle under, swallow his pride and treat a Humanis thug who's got the nuyen.

Tanka
Yes, but if none of those reasons apply, he might just tell him to slot off.
Jrayjoker
Or there could be a tragic and unavoidable accident. It all depends on the GM, player, and what they want....
Traks
There are lots of policlub haters in my group.
Why oh why no one wants to play one of them?
mfb
he might. but Humanis isn't just a group of people who all hate the same thing--it's a network of people who help each other hate the same thing. there are, more than likely, plenty of Humanis-affiliated street docs out there, especially considering that humans tend to get much better educational opportunities than, say, orks.
Nikoli
I'm thinking you'd gain the cranial bomb flaw. might not be in your head, but I could see an ork street doc planting somethign. I know I as a human would to someone like that if I had the opportunity and the training to do so. Though chances are, you wouldn't get a meta street doc, just some back alley butcher with a rusty knife and a bottle of stoley.
Garland
QUOTE (Nikoli)
some back alley butcher with a rusty knife and a bottle of stoley.

Kind of a good description of a street doc, if you ask me.
Nikoli
Well, they do range from that extreme to the near saintly types that do everything in their power to provide decent health care to the downtrodden and destitute.

Problem is, when you patch someone up, you'll either make some friends or make some enemies, depending on who put the person there in the first place and who the person knows.
Jrayjoker
As long as everyone gets the same treatment the Doc is safe, as soon as one class or type of person gets different treatment all bets are off.
Crimsondude 2.0
QUOTE (tanka)
Even ork street docs won't do certain things for money.

That's a pretty broad generalization which cannot reasonably be true.
algcs
QUOTE (Sig)
I'm trying to start/play a character as a member of the Humanis Policlub.

Are you planning to play the typical clueless Humanis member that thinks the world is changing to fast and normal mudanes need to step in and control things before they get out of hand? Did a metahuman take ur job? Do you need a place on the pile? Or do you want a Alamo 20k member? (Is the pile how Alamo 20k got their name? eek.gif )

And not all Humanis members have to hate all meta-humans. I like playing elf hating characters as much as I like playing elves. Elves after all are the real danger. Orks and Trolls may be ugly but they don't go off and make their own countries.
Paul
I'm not sure anyone has actually answered your question.

As far as I know there are no web resources that spefically address the Humanis Policlub as a whole, or making characters that have Polic Club, let alone Humanis, back grounds.

The following texts contain what I would think of as useful information: Threats which contains a section specifically dedicated to the extreme end of Humanis, Alamos 20K. It also has a write up on the Human Nation.

The NeoAnarchists Guide to Nrth America, and the CAS section in it has some information, as well as a few tidbits in the original Seattle Sourcebook, and it's pale comparison the New Seattle book.

Lone Star has some peripheral information as well. CFS will have some information in it for you. I'd check over Target: UCAS and the adventures too-as I never keep track of what in those.

Hopefully that helps. Would you care to outline the character for us here? I'd be interested in seeing your concept.
mfb
among the ma-and-pa-wilson type Humanis members, the prevailing view probably has less to do with keeping the metahumans down than it does with raising the humans up. many members of Humanis probably view the organization as being more aking to the NAACP than the KKK, in terms of agenda and motivation. (many members of the KKK probably feel the same way, though they'd certainly resent the comparison.) it is, for many people, less about hating people different from you than it is about helping people the same as you.
hahnsoo
The majority of Humanis branches are like Moose lodges, in a way... a bunch of old white farts who sit around and drink beer, playing poker on Tuesdays, having a barbecue every month. In their eyes, they are doing nothing wrong... after all, Orks have MOM, why can't humans have their own lobby group? A typical Humanis member would probably loathe violence (unless it was absolutely necessary... a Humanis member would probably be convinced to participate in the riots outside of the Chicago CZ, simply to protect his/her own families from the bugs), grant money to charity organizations, and oppose Affirmative Action-type legislation, etc. For every 10 "normal" people like that, there is probably one person with more radical ideas (sterilization, etc.)... and when you have a support network that can get those people together, you end up with Human Nation, Alamos 20k, and other militant organizations.

And remember, the KKK in the United States used to be an accepted social group, even "heroic" in some cases. D.W. Griffith's "Birth of a Nation" certainly portrayed them in this manner. There wasn't the stigma attached to being a KKK member as there is today.

A good description of the non-violent Humanis member is in Mr. Johnson's Little Black Book. This person would probably decry the actions of his more radical compatriots (the ones wearing the hoods and marching down the streets) as violent actions of violent men, but would secretly sympathize with their cause.
Nikoli
Also, mob mentality plays into this as well. 9 of 10 times, you take anyone alone from that group, separate them from the others and calm them down and they act with civility, regardless of underlying emotions. Mobs are dangerous things, they have a will all their own that many scientists have earned their degrees writing about.
Synner
FYI - Humanis is one of the many groups slated to get a write up in Loose Alliances.
Tanka
Ooooh... Handy information.
Paul
Especially given that everyone in this thread has had their own version of the Humanis Policlub, but none of them are realy based in fact, as it were smile.gif, of any sort.

You guys better get cracking. spin.gif
Synner
Actually from what I remember of that particular chapter pretty much everyone on this thread has it right (or close enough not to make a difference), strange though it may seem.
Ed Simons
QUOTE (Nikoli)
Just wait ill you get an orc street doc and he see's the humanis medallion

Why would a Humanis member go to an Ork streetdoc anyway?
Synner
Sorry, I know it's not an ork, but I can't resist... top right image, possible cover of Loose Alliances.
mfb
"why would a Humanis member go to an ork street doc?"
"because Tamanous put him in a freezer and took him there."
Crimsondude 2.0
Nice one, mfb.
Kanada Ten
There is actually quite a good angle on Humanis "members" in Sprawl Sites and several mentions of Humanis runners through out. Humanis members come for every walk of life, from every street corner to every ivory tower. There is a network or informal deals, and hand-shake agreements. There are preachers who spout everything from "separate but equal" to "godless demonic metascum". Businesses, and not just Japanese businesses, support Humanis activities either secretly or openly depending on the regional climate. And there is little bias against the magically active except in certain cults. Alamos 20K, Unity Inc, Human Nation, and IIRC the Black Lodge are all affiliated groups. Yakashima, Shiawase, among others also support such groups.
Paul
QUOTE (Synner)
Actually from what I remember of that particular chapter pretty much everyone on this thread has it right (or close enough not to make a difference), strange though it may seem.

That does not bode well for the book then, because if all it gives me is the "Bubba Gump" Humanis member, then I'll be disappointed with that sort of 2 Dimensional characterization.

I hope I am just reading too far into the comments, and wrong.

Just because you hate a thing, doesn't mean you under estimate it by making fun of it.
mfb
he did say everyone. including those of us, like me, who've put forth pretty much exactly that.
Sig
Wow this thread grew fast.
Thanks for all of the help so far, here's a brief overview of what I had in mind for my character. He'd pretty much just be your average low level Joe Runner that's been screwed over by trogs and dandelion eaters a few times too many and decided to join up with some like minded people, maybe even becoming a street preacher to help denounce the evils of those metascum that are taking over the sprawl. The main reasoning behind wanting to play a Humanis character is the fact that of all the SR I've played, I have yet to see a single Humanis, Alamo, etc... that wasn't an NPC.
Once again, I apreciate all the replies. Keep em comin'!
tisoz
QUOTE (Humanis Policlub Member Contact @ SR2.208)
The Humanis Policlub member belongs to an organization that opposes all legal rights for the Awakened, especially metahumans.  They have been known to twist and bend existing laws whenever possible to further their own aims, while at the same time suppressing the rights of the opposition.
Grinder
How openly will your humanis-character voice his opinion? Guess the average runner group has at least one metahuman member, so our char is likely to get in trouble very fast when sying his meaning about "that bloody metascum" to early and too often. That would be the point which would keep me away from playing a racist (no matter against which "race"). Or a ghoul.
Sig
He's going to be pretty open about his distrust and disliking of non humans. That's part of the idea behind the character is to add some tension and friction to the group. Kind of throwing a spanner in the works so to speak.
DrJest
Dicey. If I was playing a metahuman in that group, my first reaction would be "this slot can't be trusted." My second would quite possibly be "watch him. If he even looks like he's drawing down on me, frag him."

And before anyone says this is an extreme viewpoint, remember that this is from the limited viewpoint of a SR metahuman. Whatever the truth about the Humanis Policlub, a large proportion of metahumans are going to "know" (read: believe wholeheartedly) that all Humanis have a white hood in their closet and spend weekends having cookouts on the blazing corpses of metahumans. I don't see Ma and Pa Kettle the orks making much of a distinction between A20K and the theoretically more "moderate" HP.
Grinder
I have to seconds that. Openly saying that you're member/supporter of Humanis has the same effects as claiming you're a ghoul or working for Aztech. Your fellow runners will geek you at the first possiblity.
torzzzzz
rotfl.gif would love to help but being an Ork and having a long line of trol characters i would have to kill you . good luck and i'm surprised your GM is even bothering letting you play it...... mmm you would last 30 secs in one of our games!!!!

torz
CircuitBoyBlue
There's not much about them in sourcebooks, now that I think about it, especially not much that isn't coming in the form of shadowtalk, where everyone's putting some slant on it. Until reading this thread I didn't even realize that they hated non-mundanes (which would include magic users). I'd always kind of assumed that they were too busy hating metahumans to bother with the magicians (the manner in which the Sears tower was destroyed would back this up). Besides, being a poli-sci geek, I would think that that sort of message straying would be pretty bad for trying to get people to do what you want them to do. In the games I've GMed, I've always presented Humanis (as an organization) as not hating anyone other than metas. Of course, due to the nature of being a hate group, they'll almost certainly attract people full of hatred, that also hate magicians, foreigners, corps, etc. But you're not going to keep the mainstream appeal they're going for if you keep people out for NOT hating these things, and if you make someone hate them all, you'll radically (no pun intended) reduce your membership.

I've also always had a strong distinction between Humanis and Alamos 20K. Occasionally, I play a character who used to be a member of both, but he was far more active in Alamos 20K, because I've always seen Humanis as being more of a political group, and Alamos 20K being the secret club some of the members slink off to after a Humanis meeting (my character would rather blow something up than hold a sign at a rally for 5 hours). My character no longer hates metahumans, but he's still proud to be a Human. If he hadn't had to go to such secretive lengths to quit Alamos 20K, he'd probably still be a member of Humanis. As it is, he'd probably become a member of some neo-A policlub if canon materials didn't make neo-A's look like such hippies, and I've never found much canon info on Der Nachtmachen, so at the very least, I'd assume that they wouldn't have much presence in Seattle.

[and being the supreme idiot I am, I failed to realize there was a second page to this thread. If I'm off-topic by now, or horribly negligent of something that's already been said, that's why]
Crimsondude 2.0
QUOTE (CircuitBoyBlue)
There's not much about them in sourcebooks, now that I think about it, especially not much that isn't coming in the form of shadowtalk, where everyone's putting some slant on it. Until reading this thread I didn't even realize that they hated non-mundanes (which would include magic users). I'd always kind of assumed that they were too busy hating metahumans to bother with the magicians (the manner in which the Sears tower was destroyed would back this up).

Say it with me... "Misdirection."

Remember, Chicago was staged to look like Awakened retaliation for the Night of Rage. For all I know, and while I've never really addressed it I should given one of my characters' backgrounds, the world thinks magicians and metas did it.

QUOTE (Grinder)
I have to seconds that. Openly saying that you're member/supporter of Humanis has the same effects as claiming you're a ghoul or working for Aztech. Your fellow runners will geek you at the first possiblity.

How disappointing. I would expect better from someone who plays a game where the world is shades of grey.
Grinder
QUOTE (Crimsondude 2.0)
QUOTE (Grinder)
I have to seconds that. Openly saying that you're member/supporter of Humanis has the same effects as claiming you're a ghoul or working for Aztech. Your fellow runners will geek you at the first possiblity.


How disappointing. I would expect better from someone who plays a game where the world is shades of grey.

There's a difference between characters and players. I was once part of a group at a con, where someone played a ghoul. After takins his mask down 4 of the 5 other players decided to kill him "because he is a ghoul!". But the player was also a pain in the ass, so....

I have to second to posting: the characters live in a world with no real "white". But the players don't always realize that. "Sure, he may be a fraggin' Humanis sucker, but he's the only one capable of doing this specific task."
Crimsondude 2.0
Yes, but my concern arises from the appearance of yet another blatant generalization based on a fallacy of assumption that all runners--and specificalyl your runners, with "you" being all of us not yourself, reacting that way.
audun
QUOTE (CircuitBoyBlue)
As it is, he'd probably become a member of some neo-A policlub if canon materials didn't make neo-A's look like such hippies

Just out of curiosity: What did you expect them to be (other than hippies)?
Charon
To add my grain of salt :

If I were to make an analogy, the Humanis MO should be more akin to a hardcore pro-life group than to the KKK. They are not burning crosses and lynching escaped slave, they are openly and legally lobbying in favor of humans at the expenses of metahumans.

The occasional Humanis activist might do something half cocked, similar to that pro-life wacko who was shooting doctors working in abortion clinics (around Buffalo I think). But the Humanis policlub itself wouldn't condone overt violence. It's a political club. Essentially it's a lobby 'standing up for the rights of humans'. It organizes rally (that often turn violent when confronted with a MOM rally but that the trog's fault), fund raisers to support the campaigns of friendly candidates at all levels of government, call media attention on the cause of any poor humans who got a raw deal because of metahumans, that kind of drek. IMO anyway.

What's the typical reaction of most orks to a humanis member? I would think the same as when an average pro-choice meets a pro-lifer militant. S/He thinks S/he's faced with a grade 'A' jerk. But kill the guy? That's a bit of an over reaction, don't you think?

If they're both runner, they can push past that and get the job done. There won't be much bonding at the local bar after the run, that's all. Of course if the humanis member is hardcore and spouting propaganda non-stop while the ork is a member of MOM, things could get ugly. Professional courtesy only goes so far.

---

As an aside, I think a low-key bigot member of Humanis could be a great source of stories. A hardcore violent racist should be avoided. It's not a cool character in any way shape or form. But the more casual, everyday racist is a source of amusing dialogue between PCs (if players don't take things personally).

Better yet, Alamos 20K and Human Nation, the real villains, obviously are involved with various Humanis policlub chapters. As funders, as covers, to recruit the most promising members etc. So a PC member of Humanis could somehow get involved in a truly villainous plot, something that would kill hundreds of metahumans or worse. At that point he has to make a decision. He might be pro-human, but is he a monster? Where does he draw the line? This is great cyberpunk stuff.

PS : No offense meant to people who are pro-life. Just illustrating a point. smile.gif
tschofie
QUOTE
He's going to be pretty open about his distrust and disliking of non humans. That's part of the idea behind the character is to add some tension and friction to the group. Kind of throwing a spanner in the works so to speak.


There are plenty of "mainstream" political opinions which, with a few tweaks, could easily become rationalized Humanis propaganda. For instance, job losses to other countries concerns people today -- I think someone mentioned that a Humanis member could be equally "concerned" about losing jobs to metas, or to immigrant metas, or to SINless metas.

What about... oh, say, weapons of mass destruction? Metahumans who resulted from Surge probably aren't particularly stable individuals; what if one of them got their hands on something *really* nasty?

Or family values? A Humanis member might believe that, say, Orks are biologically prone to infidelity, or that their high fertility makes them incapable of good parenting.

Do any of your fellow gamers have strong political or religious beliefs, particularly of a conservitive bent, which you could mirror? If you have a gamer who insists (rightly or wrongly) that welfare is often wasted, maybe your Humanis character could cite studies "proving" that handouts to metahumans are likewise often wasted? Or Religious -- if man was made in God's image, where does that leave trolls?

I think a raving racist would manage to aquire a bullet in the back before long. And it's not really the froth-mouthed fundamentalists who are the scary ones anyway -- they're easy to pick out from a crowd, and easy to ignore. It's the logical ones, the well-spoken ones, the ones who make it all sound like a good idea who are truly disconcerting.

Cheers,
TS

_____

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-- J. Parnell Thomas




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