On Societies
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2023 1:37 am
I'm very excited about Societies and they're getting closer and closer! I thought I'd take a moment (looking back after finishing writing this up: a very long moment, apparently) to set some expectations.
Phase 1 for Societies (which is not happening yet) will be very sparse, and will include little (if any) more than:
- The ability to join a Society
- Access to the Society headquarters/facility area
- Maybe a few shops that sell some flavored gear and/or prop items
Even without tasks and such, It's my hope that the initial release of Societies will provide some direction and motivation for players who have characters that would fit well in these Societies.
Societies will not be offering hefty suites of abilities and should not be seen as some kind of secondary class or minmaxing opportunity. They *will* offer some abilities, however. The goal is to refrain from any of these being considered make-or-break abilities for any particular class or build. Societies aren't there to teach their members how to do the job they need done, they're there to recruit people who already have the right skills to support their cause. One's Guild is where they get their core training and abilities, and one's Society (if any) is where they can choose to apply their training and abilities to a particularly focused or dedicated cause.
I don't want Societies to feel like a requirement for every character. I imagine we'll have plenty of characters who go without a Society. The goal is to eventually have enough abilities for each Guild class that it's perfectly viable (and in some cases preferable) to not spend any ability points on Society abilities for a character.
I also want to say that we frankly cannot make so many Societies that there is a right one for every character. As a single developer and very small GM team running what is ultimately an unpaid hobby project MUD, there's no feasible way that this could be accomplished. I know that not everyone will find one of these Societies that they're interested in, and while I wish we could make sure there was one for everyone, it's just not realistic. Again, the desire is for Societies to be considered non-essential for a character, and for non-Society characters to be just as viable as those who do join a Society.
The Society list is looking like:
- Wyrvardn: Protectors of the people with a code of honor and behavior. They have a particular focus in standing up against the bad apples of their fellow man - bandits, highwaymen, Liberi, aggressive cultists, etc. They have a side-purpose that is learning more about the history and fall of Aetgard, but this is a side gig - members should be joining for the primary purpose of the protectors-of-the-people cause (even if they do so indirectly via support instead of directly engaging in combat themselves). If the sole interest is the history aspect, it would be best to form or join a Company dedicated to that, and then work to ally that Company with the Wyrvardn so they can cooperate in such matters.
- Tse Gaiyan: They're concerned about all things resen (infested). Their members are expected to support the fight against the rampant resen-infestation out there. (Again, directly or indirectly - supplying gear or providing physicker services or things like that count even if that character isn't personally gearing up to go fight the rampant infested or chop up spreading steamstalks.) They're also generally interested in studying the resen condition and learning everything they can about it.
- Harbingers: Representatives of the coalition that has been formed by the "darker" or less-represented or (as some might claim) misunderstood Immortals: Balastrossa, Aranas, Malfant, Bathal, Hesutu, Kurn, Yru, Ujaeio. (Not the Blood God - his people seem to want to do their thing on their own.) Their primary purpose is to spread the knowledge and influence of their patron Immortals. Many of said patrons have an affinity for nether so they may occasionally work to establish a greater presence of the nether in certain places, and while this is not a primary goal, individuals who have a problem with this need not apply. They do not like the Prime Immortals (Vandin, Iarel, Undm, Vodr) or the Immortals typically allied or affiliated with them (and the feeling is mutual). The Prime Immortals and their allies have taken efforts to keep themselves on top while attempting to keep these "Harbinger Immortals" down, out of the conscious thoughts of mortals, starved of sustaining acknowledgment and worship. They do not like the anti-nethrim Society (and the feeling is mutual). NOTE: A CHARACTER DOES NOT NEED TO BE A MEMBER OF THIS SOCIETY TO BE ALIGNED WITH OR DEDICATED TO ONE OF THE DARKER IMMORTALS! Be a Tse Gaiyan Hesutu adherent, or a Wyrvardn Bathal adherent, or a Shady Society Ujaeio adherent, or a Monster Slayer Kurn adherent. Or a completely-Society-less Dark-Immortal-Of-Your-Choice adherent! That's perfectly fine.
- The Shady Sneaky Society (Real name pending): There are rumors of a shadowy underground crime syndicate that has influence throughout the Lost Lands, uniting organized crime chapters in most every major settlement therein. Most write it off as little more than a particularly organized gang of thieves, thugs, and assorted criminals. The occasional theory pops up however claiming there is a greater organization to it all that is doing its own part to regulate crime and in its own way promote stability in the Lost Lands that would otherwise have devolved into complete chaos and ruin brought about by unfettered crime and brigandry overwhelming the few remaining pockets of civilization in a post-apocalyptic world. Few buy into this theory and see it as a shallow and convenient justification for the crimes these groups commit and facilitate. It does seem to make a certain amount of sense however that a criminal enterprise (and the fortunes of its members) can only survive in the long term if it has a stable long-term civilization in which it can thrive.
- The Anti-Nethrim Society (Real name pending): Committed to the purging or at least containment of the widespread outbreak of nether-corruption in the Lost Lands, with powerful representatives of various Immortals backing the cause: Aphraen, Vandin, Undm, Serafina, Iarel, Bogvaskr, Vodr, Nereia, Naia. They are not blind zealots and bloodthirsty inquisitors: their target is the nether itself, not necessarily its practitioners. They do of course need to keep an eye on said practitioners and deal with the ones that refuse to stop exacerbating the greater problem that is causing more and more of the Lost Lands to be corrupted by the nether. They do not like the Harbingers or their patron Immortals (and the feeling is mutual). As with the note in the Harbingers entry: A character do not need to be a member of this Society to be aligned with or dedicated to one of the listed supporting Immortals!
- The Monster Slayers (Real name pending): Infested and nethrim aren't the only dangerous creatures running rampant in the Lost Lands: The Monster Slayers are dedicated to keeping the more dangerous and violent beasts in check, their members studying the habits, strengths, and weaknesses of these monsters to better hunt them and potentially utilize the various resources that these monsters might provide, from their hides to their humours. A few of the leaders of this group are powerful druids or adherents of powerful primal entities, or of Immortals with an affinity or interest in such, such as Bogvaskr or Kurn. They often make a sport of their jobs and tasks, hosting hunting competitions and maintaining records boards and the like. Some members adhere to a philosophy taught by Bogvaskr and the Dwaedn Wyr, which is striving for continual improvement through ever-increasing combat challenges, and the belief that even the spirits of the slain will maintain some of the knowledge they gained in the battle to be passed on to their next manifestation. This means improvement for both the victor and the defeated, even in death - a method of mutually beneficial evolution regardless of the outcome.
- The Ascetic's Path: Hosted by the local chapter of the Church of Light, this small but dedicated group of individuals are committed to adhering to a path of strict asceticism based heavily upon the Edict of St.Vito. Those walking the Ascetic's Path attempt to achieve a heightened level of inner peace while supporting the aims of the Church, being the promotion of compassion, charity, and self-reliance in the people of the Lost Lands, as well as the general well-being of the people. Those with an aptitude for combat are also called upon to protect the defenseless and help keep the rampant nethrim of the Lost Lands in check while at the same time maintaining a mindfulness of when it is and is not appropriate to resort to violence and bloodshed, and are expected to adhere to the old code once upheld by the lost Knights Templar. All adherents must take a vow of poverty that severely limits possessions, acceptable apparel/gear appearance and materials, and accumulation of wealth. This Society is for those few who miss the roleplay, INCLUDING the rigid strictness, of the old Church guilds from CLOK. It is deliberately set up to be especially strict and limiting, and its restrictions are expected to be applied to a character's actual RP and gameplay practice rather than just being regarded as handwaved background fluff lore. Membership in this one will be limited and recruits will be vetted and reached out to - this is not an "ask to join and you're in" Society. They may potentially recruit from other Societies if an individual seems like the right fit. For clarity: These are the rare individuals who WANT to specifically dedicate to a NICHE EXTREME DISCIPLINE RP THAT WILL AT TIMES BE DIFFICULT AND POTENTIALLY FRUSTRATING TO BEHAVE WITHIN. Members will feel and *be* judged, both by NPCs overseeing the Society as well as people outside the Society who know about its rules and codes that members are supposed to be adhering to. A character does NOT need to be in this Society to consider themselves a Church of Light or Serafina-aligned character. THEY WILL NOT BE GETTING HEALING LASERS! If a player wants to play a healer character, THIS IS NOT IT: BE A PHYSICKER! If a player wants the RP feel AND restrictive disciplined monastic-like lifestyle of old Monks/Templar from CLOK (under my iron-fisted regime; I don't know how it was after I left), this MIGHT be for them, but IT IS NOT JUST A PORT OF THOSE THINGS. If a player wants all the abilities of old Monks/Templar from CLOK, THIS IS NOT IT! If a player wants to walk into a training room and pick up Thaumaturgy and some Thaumaturgy abilities, THIS IS NOT IT! If this sounds like all the RP effort of CLOK Monks/Templar but without the significant power payout, that's because it more or less is. If that sounds unappealing, stay away from this one. I'm not expecting much overall interest in this one, and that's okay. It's extremely niche, but it's near and dear enough to my heart as well as to the hearts of a few CLOK veterans who opined that they'd love to have it around in some form again that I'm doing this one anyway, and I hope we get at least one or two new people who are interested in it too so it can get some new life and not feel like it's just some dim relic of the past.
SORRY ABOUT ALL THE CAPS BUT I FELT THE EXTRA EMPHASIS WAS NECESSARY. Moving on ...
I'd also like to make a plea: Please only plan to join a Society if your character is sufficiently aligned with that Society *as that Society already stands*. Please do not deliberately make plans to join as an ironic recruit, or an against-the-grain boat-rocker, or a secret infiltrator, or someone who's going to effect broad sweeping changes in the system. These Societies will not hesitate to kick out members that do not appear to actually support their cause or their ideals, to say nothing of those going against them (even if subtly). In some cases, this could lead to consequences as bad as losing the ability to play that character anymore. (I would especially not recommend joining Harbingers or the Shady Society and then giving them reason to want to be rid of that character. That may well bring on consequences that makes a character non-viable for further play.)
Some examples of bad reason to join a Society:
- Joining the Monster Slayers to try and convince them to stop violence against the monsters they're hunting.
- Joining the Harbingers as a secret double agent with plans to betray/inform on them to their enemies.
- Joining the Anti-Nethrim Society to try and convince them that the nether is not the real enemy or is not really bad or can be coexisted with just fine as it is.
- Joining Tse Gaiyan to try and stop them from physically fighting the infested because there's some purportedly better non-violent way of dealing with the issue.
- Joining the Shady Society to ferret out their secrets and information and then expose them (or just share the secrets with non-member friends).
- Joining the Ascetics to then try and convince them that their ways are too strict and extreme and should be eased up on.
- Joining any Society with a planned arc to eventually betray/double-cross/expose/get kicked out of/have a "fall from grace".
- In general, joining a Society that a character (or their player) thinks needs to be changed.
All the above could be neat as parts of a story in a book or a show or a movie or whatnot where the narrative is carefully crafted and controlled with an arc in mind and a specific destination to end up at. In this setting, however, there are no plans to support players who want to sabotage or take down or make some broad sweeping change in these Societies. It wouldn't be fair to discard the plans and the intended roleplay/gameplay roles of these societies on the independent and unplanned initiative of a player character who decides they want to shake things up at the expense of everyone else who joined the Societies in earnest support of their causes. Thus, the result would be little more than frustration for the player and the GMs alike for a situation that isn't going to actually go anywhere and gets the player character into trouble.
On the other hand, much of the above can be done *without* joining the specific societies. Feel free to try and spread the idea that the Monster Slayers are being unnecessarily violent and cruel to the beasts they hunt. Become trusted with some Harbingers to try and get some useful info from them about their Society that can then be passed on to their enemies to be used against those scary people and their spooky Immortal patrons. Shout over the pendants that Tse Gaiyan is being too aggressive against the resen and that they should just study the infested from a distance without going in and killing infested people/creatures that really have no control over their own actions. Debate with Ascetics about how they're really just brainwashed extremists. None of the Societies are meant to be perfect or flawless or incontestable. Just don't try to do it from *within* those societies - because that's going to get that member kicked out, and now they've lost that character's Society membership opportunity for good, and harmful drama both IC and OOC is likely to ensue.
So please: Only have a character join a Society if that character seems like they would genuinely fit with and support that Society as it's already established to be. It's okay to seek a degree of change or improvement within one's own Society, but acting or speaking out significantly counter to their established goals and/or methods will not be supported and we don't want to see that kind of thing happening because it's just not going to go well.
Lastly: There may be more Societies added in the future. I don't much like the idea of "Society rerolls" so that won't likely be a possibility when new ones are introduced. I say this to emphasise that players should not have their characters join a Society if it doesn't feel like it's a great fit for that character. Don't get peer pressured into it, don't join it out of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), don't join it just because a bunch of that character's friends did, don't join it just because it's the least-bad of the current available options for that character, don't join it if it feels like additional rationalizations or justifications or roleplay adjustments have to be made in order to make it feel right for a character. Societies shouldn't be joined because they're there, they should be joined because a character fits them well. If no Society seems like a good fit, don't join any of them. Being Society-less will be perfectly viable gameplay-wise. While Societies are meant to provide some additional roleplay and motivation opportunity, they're going to effectively be the opposite of that for characters that joined despite not feeling like they're a good fit because it's all going to feel forced and wrong.
Phase 1 for Societies (which is not happening yet) will be very sparse, and will include little (if any) more than:
- The ability to join a Society
- Access to the Society headquarters/facility area
- Maybe a few shops that sell some flavored gear and/or prop items
Even without tasks and such, It's my hope that the initial release of Societies will provide some direction and motivation for players who have characters that would fit well in these Societies.
Societies will not be offering hefty suites of abilities and should not be seen as some kind of secondary class or minmaxing opportunity. They *will* offer some abilities, however. The goal is to refrain from any of these being considered make-or-break abilities for any particular class or build. Societies aren't there to teach their members how to do the job they need done, they're there to recruit people who already have the right skills to support their cause. One's Guild is where they get their core training and abilities, and one's Society (if any) is where they can choose to apply their training and abilities to a particularly focused or dedicated cause.
I don't want Societies to feel like a requirement for every character. I imagine we'll have plenty of characters who go without a Society. The goal is to eventually have enough abilities for each Guild class that it's perfectly viable (and in some cases preferable) to not spend any ability points on Society abilities for a character.
I also want to say that we frankly cannot make so many Societies that there is a right one for every character. As a single developer and very small GM team running what is ultimately an unpaid hobby project MUD, there's no feasible way that this could be accomplished. I know that not everyone will find one of these Societies that they're interested in, and while I wish we could make sure there was one for everyone, it's just not realistic. Again, the desire is for Societies to be considered non-essential for a character, and for non-Society characters to be just as viable as those who do join a Society.
The Society list is looking like:
- Wyrvardn: Protectors of the people with a code of honor and behavior. They have a particular focus in standing up against the bad apples of their fellow man - bandits, highwaymen, Liberi, aggressive cultists, etc. They have a side-purpose that is learning more about the history and fall of Aetgard, but this is a side gig - members should be joining for the primary purpose of the protectors-of-the-people cause (even if they do so indirectly via support instead of directly engaging in combat themselves). If the sole interest is the history aspect, it would be best to form or join a Company dedicated to that, and then work to ally that Company with the Wyrvardn so they can cooperate in such matters.
- Tse Gaiyan: They're concerned about all things resen (infested). Their members are expected to support the fight against the rampant resen-infestation out there. (Again, directly or indirectly - supplying gear or providing physicker services or things like that count even if that character isn't personally gearing up to go fight the rampant infested or chop up spreading steamstalks.) They're also generally interested in studying the resen condition and learning everything they can about it.
- Harbingers: Representatives of the coalition that has been formed by the "darker" or less-represented or (as some might claim) misunderstood Immortals: Balastrossa, Aranas, Malfant, Bathal, Hesutu, Kurn, Yru, Ujaeio. (Not the Blood God - his people seem to want to do their thing on their own.) Their primary purpose is to spread the knowledge and influence of their patron Immortals. Many of said patrons have an affinity for nether so they may occasionally work to establish a greater presence of the nether in certain places, and while this is not a primary goal, individuals who have a problem with this need not apply. They do not like the Prime Immortals (Vandin, Iarel, Undm, Vodr) or the Immortals typically allied or affiliated with them (and the feeling is mutual). The Prime Immortals and their allies have taken efforts to keep themselves on top while attempting to keep these "Harbinger Immortals" down, out of the conscious thoughts of mortals, starved of sustaining acknowledgment and worship. They do not like the anti-nethrim Society (and the feeling is mutual). NOTE: A CHARACTER DOES NOT NEED TO BE A MEMBER OF THIS SOCIETY TO BE ALIGNED WITH OR DEDICATED TO ONE OF THE DARKER IMMORTALS! Be a Tse Gaiyan Hesutu adherent, or a Wyrvardn Bathal adherent, or a Shady Society Ujaeio adherent, or a Monster Slayer Kurn adherent. Or a completely-Society-less Dark-Immortal-Of-Your-Choice adherent! That's perfectly fine.
- The Shady Sneaky Society (Real name pending): There are rumors of a shadowy underground crime syndicate that has influence throughout the Lost Lands, uniting organized crime chapters in most every major settlement therein. Most write it off as little more than a particularly organized gang of thieves, thugs, and assorted criminals. The occasional theory pops up however claiming there is a greater organization to it all that is doing its own part to regulate crime and in its own way promote stability in the Lost Lands that would otherwise have devolved into complete chaos and ruin brought about by unfettered crime and brigandry overwhelming the few remaining pockets of civilization in a post-apocalyptic world. Few buy into this theory and see it as a shallow and convenient justification for the crimes these groups commit and facilitate. It does seem to make a certain amount of sense however that a criminal enterprise (and the fortunes of its members) can only survive in the long term if it has a stable long-term civilization in which it can thrive.
- The Anti-Nethrim Society (Real name pending): Committed to the purging or at least containment of the widespread outbreak of nether-corruption in the Lost Lands, with powerful representatives of various Immortals backing the cause: Aphraen, Vandin, Undm, Serafina, Iarel, Bogvaskr, Vodr, Nereia, Naia. They are not blind zealots and bloodthirsty inquisitors: their target is the nether itself, not necessarily its practitioners. They do of course need to keep an eye on said practitioners and deal with the ones that refuse to stop exacerbating the greater problem that is causing more and more of the Lost Lands to be corrupted by the nether. They do not like the Harbingers or their patron Immortals (and the feeling is mutual). As with the note in the Harbingers entry: A character do not need to be a member of this Society to be aligned with or dedicated to one of the listed supporting Immortals!
- The Monster Slayers (Real name pending): Infested and nethrim aren't the only dangerous creatures running rampant in the Lost Lands: The Monster Slayers are dedicated to keeping the more dangerous and violent beasts in check, their members studying the habits, strengths, and weaknesses of these monsters to better hunt them and potentially utilize the various resources that these monsters might provide, from their hides to their humours. A few of the leaders of this group are powerful druids or adherents of powerful primal entities, or of Immortals with an affinity or interest in such, such as Bogvaskr or Kurn. They often make a sport of their jobs and tasks, hosting hunting competitions and maintaining records boards and the like. Some members adhere to a philosophy taught by Bogvaskr and the Dwaedn Wyr, which is striving for continual improvement through ever-increasing combat challenges, and the belief that even the spirits of the slain will maintain some of the knowledge they gained in the battle to be passed on to their next manifestation. This means improvement for both the victor and the defeated, even in death - a method of mutually beneficial evolution regardless of the outcome.
- The Ascetic's Path: Hosted by the local chapter of the Church of Light, this small but dedicated group of individuals are committed to adhering to a path of strict asceticism based heavily upon the Edict of St.Vito. Those walking the Ascetic's Path attempt to achieve a heightened level of inner peace while supporting the aims of the Church, being the promotion of compassion, charity, and self-reliance in the people of the Lost Lands, as well as the general well-being of the people. Those with an aptitude for combat are also called upon to protect the defenseless and help keep the rampant nethrim of the Lost Lands in check while at the same time maintaining a mindfulness of when it is and is not appropriate to resort to violence and bloodshed, and are expected to adhere to the old code once upheld by the lost Knights Templar. All adherents must take a vow of poverty that severely limits possessions, acceptable apparel/gear appearance and materials, and accumulation of wealth. This Society is for those few who miss the roleplay, INCLUDING the rigid strictness, of the old Church guilds from CLOK. It is deliberately set up to be especially strict and limiting, and its restrictions are expected to be applied to a character's actual RP and gameplay practice rather than just being regarded as handwaved background fluff lore. Membership in this one will be limited and recruits will be vetted and reached out to - this is not an "ask to join and you're in" Society. They may potentially recruit from other Societies if an individual seems like the right fit. For clarity: These are the rare individuals who WANT to specifically dedicate to a NICHE EXTREME DISCIPLINE RP THAT WILL AT TIMES BE DIFFICULT AND POTENTIALLY FRUSTRATING TO BEHAVE WITHIN. Members will feel and *be* judged, both by NPCs overseeing the Society as well as people outside the Society who know about its rules and codes that members are supposed to be adhering to. A character does NOT need to be in this Society to consider themselves a Church of Light or Serafina-aligned character. THEY WILL NOT BE GETTING HEALING LASERS! If a player wants to play a healer character, THIS IS NOT IT: BE A PHYSICKER! If a player wants the RP feel AND restrictive disciplined monastic-like lifestyle of old Monks/Templar from CLOK (under my iron-fisted regime; I don't know how it was after I left), this MIGHT be for them, but IT IS NOT JUST A PORT OF THOSE THINGS. If a player wants all the abilities of old Monks/Templar from CLOK, THIS IS NOT IT! If a player wants to walk into a training room and pick up Thaumaturgy and some Thaumaturgy abilities, THIS IS NOT IT! If this sounds like all the RP effort of CLOK Monks/Templar but without the significant power payout, that's because it more or less is. If that sounds unappealing, stay away from this one. I'm not expecting much overall interest in this one, and that's okay. It's extremely niche, but it's near and dear enough to my heart as well as to the hearts of a few CLOK veterans who opined that they'd love to have it around in some form again that I'm doing this one anyway, and I hope we get at least one or two new people who are interested in it too so it can get some new life and not feel like it's just some dim relic of the past.
SORRY ABOUT ALL THE CAPS BUT I FELT THE EXTRA EMPHASIS WAS NECESSARY. Moving on ...
I'd also like to make a plea: Please only plan to join a Society if your character is sufficiently aligned with that Society *as that Society already stands*. Please do not deliberately make plans to join as an ironic recruit, or an against-the-grain boat-rocker, or a secret infiltrator, or someone who's going to effect broad sweeping changes in the system. These Societies will not hesitate to kick out members that do not appear to actually support their cause or their ideals, to say nothing of those going against them (even if subtly). In some cases, this could lead to consequences as bad as losing the ability to play that character anymore. (I would especially not recommend joining Harbingers or the Shady Society and then giving them reason to want to be rid of that character. That may well bring on consequences that makes a character non-viable for further play.)
Some examples of bad reason to join a Society:
- Joining the Monster Slayers to try and convince them to stop violence against the monsters they're hunting.
- Joining the Harbingers as a secret double agent with plans to betray/inform on them to their enemies.
- Joining the Anti-Nethrim Society to try and convince them that the nether is not the real enemy or is not really bad or can be coexisted with just fine as it is.
- Joining Tse Gaiyan to try and stop them from physically fighting the infested because there's some purportedly better non-violent way of dealing with the issue.
- Joining the Shady Society to ferret out their secrets and information and then expose them (or just share the secrets with non-member friends).
- Joining the Ascetics to then try and convince them that their ways are too strict and extreme and should be eased up on.
- Joining any Society with a planned arc to eventually betray/double-cross/expose/get kicked out of/have a "fall from grace".
- In general, joining a Society that a character (or their player) thinks needs to be changed.
All the above could be neat as parts of a story in a book or a show or a movie or whatnot where the narrative is carefully crafted and controlled with an arc in mind and a specific destination to end up at. In this setting, however, there are no plans to support players who want to sabotage or take down or make some broad sweeping change in these Societies. It wouldn't be fair to discard the plans and the intended roleplay/gameplay roles of these societies on the independent and unplanned initiative of a player character who decides they want to shake things up at the expense of everyone else who joined the Societies in earnest support of their causes. Thus, the result would be little more than frustration for the player and the GMs alike for a situation that isn't going to actually go anywhere and gets the player character into trouble.
On the other hand, much of the above can be done *without* joining the specific societies. Feel free to try and spread the idea that the Monster Slayers are being unnecessarily violent and cruel to the beasts they hunt. Become trusted with some Harbingers to try and get some useful info from them about their Society that can then be passed on to their enemies to be used against those scary people and their spooky Immortal patrons. Shout over the pendants that Tse Gaiyan is being too aggressive against the resen and that they should just study the infested from a distance without going in and killing infested people/creatures that really have no control over their own actions. Debate with Ascetics about how they're really just brainwashed extremists. None of the Societies are meant to be perfect or flawless or incontestable. Just don't try to do it from *within* those societies - because that's going to get that member kicked out, and now they've lost that character's Society membership opportunity for good, and harmful drama both IC and OOC is likely to ensue.
So please: Only have a character join a Society if that character seems like they would genuinely fit with and support that Society as it's already established to be. It's okay to seek a degree of change or improvement within one's own Society, but acting or speaking out significantly counter to their established goals and/or methods will not be supported and we don't want to see that kind of thing happening because it's just not going to go well.
Lastly: There may be more Societies added in the future. I don't much like the idea of "Society rerolls" so that won't likely be a possibility when new ones are introduced. I say this to emphasise that players should not have their characters join a Society if it doesn't feel like it's a great fit for that character. Don't get peer pressured into it, don't join it out of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), don't join it just because a bunch of that character's friends did, don't join it just because it's the least-bad of the current available options for that character, don't join it if it feels like additional rationalizations or justifications or roleplay adjustments have to be made in order to make it feel right for a character. Societies shouldn't be joined because they're there, they should be joined because a character fits them well. If no Society seems like a good fit, don't join any of them. Being Society-less will be perfectly viable gameplay-wise. While Societies are meant to provide some additional roleplay and motivation opportunity, they're going to effectively be the opposite of that for characters that joined despite not feeling like they're a good fit because it's all going to feel forced and wrong.