Oseram

"The Oseram believe in many things. The forge's hiss, the charcoal's crack, the creak of the fermenting barrel."

The Oseram are a human tribe in Horizon Zero Dawn. They are known for their excellent metalworkers and craftsmen, and as such, their steel and powerful weaponry. They are more technologically advanced compared to the other tribes.

History

The Oseram are said to be the first tribe to delve into the ruins of the Old Ones, which are plentiful in their homeland. Due to their loosely defined government, numerous Oseram traveled beyond the Claim for work: Oseram work gangs were responsible for the construction of Meridian's elevators.

Red Raids

The Oseram were one of several tribes attacked by the Carja during the Red Raids. Countless among their tribe were either slaughtered or brought to the Sun-Ring to be sacrificed.

To counteract the Carja threat, many Oseram banded together to defend their land and their people. Notable warriors included Dervahl, a genius tinkerer who had lost his family to the raids; Ersa, a fierce warrior who had survived the Sun-Ring and escaped; and her brother, Erend.

Politics

The Oseram are a large tribe of loosely-confederated clans inhabiting the land to the north of the Carja Sundom, known as "the Claim."^[1]

Governing structure

The tribe as a whole is made up of independent villages maintained by family clans. These clans are loosely united into a larger nation-state, although the day-to-day lives of Oseram are governed by his or her clan's ealdormen.

Each clan elects a council of ealdormen to provide governance to the tribe, although this is typically done on a case-by-case basis. Oseram citizens with requests for marriage or policy proposals for the village will wait in line for hours each day for an opportunity to pose their question to the ealdormen.^[2]

Culture

The Oseram place a high value on independence and freedom of expression, making arguments a vital part of Oseram culture. Similarly, honesty is a key virtue, and cheating or deceiving a fellow tribe member is considered a crime sometimes punishable by death.^[1]

The Oseram's greatest known cultural achievement is their practical craftsmanship, which many of their tribe, including Erend, can be heard boasting about. Their armors are claimed to be very resilient and their weapons are advanced and powerful despite their lack of the Old Ones knowledge, with some particularly notable examples being the Oseram Cannon which was key in defeating Jiran during the Liberation of Meridian. Other apparatuses, like sonic devices, safe doors, and voice recording devices are proof of their technological aptitude, which so far can only be surpassed by those bearing knowledge of the Old Ones. Their craftsmanship seems to contrasts sharply with the Carja, who prefer an artistic (and often, opulent) approach, with members of the tribe remarking on the silliness of the Carja army's feathers and choice of machine parts.

According to Erend and Aram, the Oseram are heavy drinkers.^[2]

In many ways, the Oseram culture is distinct from other tribes. They do not wear any form of face paint, have no organized religion, and design based on practicality rather than take inspiration from their surroundings.

Architecture

Oseram structures are sturdy in design, comprised of stone and reinforced with lumber and metal. Most of their smaller buildings tend to be circular or cylindrical in shape.

Beliefs

The Oseram believe that the world functions as a large and intricately crafted mechanism, and all the forces of nature are accounted for by this mechanism. They believe that the Old Ones were once the caretakers of this "world-machine", and their civilization fell due to their failure to maintain it.^[3]

Aside from this myth, the Oseram are largely agnostic or athiest, and scorn the idea of priests or shamans. They are generally critical of tribal religions, especially when they interfere with common sense.

Women

"In the Claim, where we come from, we don't own property, we become it."

―Gera

The Oseram have a patriarchal society in which women are not permitted to own property; rather, according to Gera at Hunter's Gathering, they are treated like property. Women who wish to become soldiers must shave their heads. Married women will have "Wife" as their title's suffix (ex: Alewife, Forgewife, Bladewife).

The patriarchy is even stronger in the Claim than in the neighboring Sundom, especially after the recent reforms of Sun-King Avad. Following the Liberation, many Oseram woman have left the Claim in hopes of finding independence.

Foreign Relations

Carja

The Carja are the Oseram's southern neighbors, whom they share a long history with. Based on glyphs, the Oseram may have begun trade with the Carja as early as the reign of Sun-King Juwadan.^[4] Oseram work gangs played a large role in the construction of Meridian's elevators, which were completed just before the start of the Red Raids.

During the Red Raids, the Oseram were one of many tribes that fell victim to the Carja's brutal raids and sacrifices; however, they were able to put up a fight due to their armaments. The war with the Carja came to an end when the Oseram forged an alliance with Avad, the son of the Mad Sun-King Jiran, and mounted an attack on Meridian that resulted in the defeat of Jiran. The Oseram Vanguard played a major role in the liberation of the city.

Thanks to Avad's alliance, the Oseram can often be found in Meridian and elsewhere throughout the Sundom. Most Carja citizens appear uneasy about the increase in Oseram found in their cities. While the alliance between the two tribes is uneasy at best, it is nevertheless the strongest inter-tribal relationship seen within the known world.

Banuk

While not antagonistic, the relationship between the Banuk and Oseram is far from cordial. The differences between their two cultures is a large factor. Some merchants from the Oseram have even traveled to sell their items to the in The Cut, with little success.

Nora

While interactions between the Nora and Oseram are limited, the Oseram display a basic knowledge of Nora customs. Some Oseram, most notably Gera, have come to Hunter's Gathering following the Red Raids, engaging in trade with the Nora tribe for the first time in either of their histories. However, there are indications that the Oseram, like the Carja, view the Nora as primitive: several Oseram have referred to the Nora as "savages".

Known Members

NPC Archetypes

Elite Mercenary
Mercenary Forgesmith
Mercenary Gunner
Mercenary Heav
Mercenary Warrior
Merchant
Odund's Marvel Outlander
Oseram Elder
Oseram Freebooter
Oseram Guard
Oseram Outlander
Oseram Worker
Vanguard Regular

Known Settlements, Outposts, and Gates

Trivia

The Oseram make use of bynames, which are last names derived from occupation, gender, marital status, or familial relation. Examples include Petra Forgewoman and Olin Delverson.
The Oseram's culture is loosely based on that of the Cossacks.^[5]
- Their clothing and architecture style, however, were original designs, conceived by determining how they would interact with their environment.
Scrappersap, considered to be the finest Oseram brew, is derived from corn.