Grimhold Reavers
The Reavers were bands of pirates operating out of Grimhold in the Underzone during the Interstellar Dark Ages. Driven by their homeworld's severe shortage of life-support necessities, the Reavers plundered these from passing ships, and in a few cases launched raids out of the Zone and into populated systems.
The characteristic Reaver vessel was the "Outrider", a cobbled-together warcraft with crude engines (typically chemical or nuclear-thermal) and weapons, laughable by modern standards but more than enough to take a lone vessel from one of the few polities retaining space travel at the Dark Ages' depths. Lying in wait among the Underzone's gas pockets and gravitational shears, each band knew its local territory and moved to trap intruders. Lucky prey would escape by dropping cargo as a distraction, those unfortunate enough to be captured received brutal treatment, often taken back to Grimhold as slave labor, or executed and smelted down for life-critical elements.
The Reavers' end came as recovering nations mounted anti-piracy patrols in the Underzone, and were decisively defeated by the Stellar Compact's capture of Grimhold in the early Unified Era. The warlord-states of that planet were then dismantled and reformed under civilian governance. Though most Reavers were killed, arrested, or reformed, a handful of bands are known to have fled deeper into the Underzone, leaving a legacy which continues to inspire tales of mysterious sightings and even attacks.
The characteristic Reaver vessel was the "Outrider", a cobbled-together warcraft with crude engines (typically chemical or nuclear-thermal) and weapons, laughable by modern standards but more than enough to take a lone vessel from one of the few polities retaining space travel at the Dark Ages' depths. Lying in wait among the Underzone's gas pockets and gravitational shears, each band knew its local territory and moved to trap intruders. Lucky prey would escape by dropping cargo as a distraction, those unfortunate enough to be captured received brutal treatment, often taken back to Grimhold as slave labor, or executed and smelted down for life-critical elements.
The Reavers' end came as recovering nations mounted anti-piracy patrols in the Underzone, and were decisively defeated by the Stellar Compact's capture of Grimhold in the early Unified Era. The warlord-states of that planet were then dismantled and reformed under civilian governance. Though most Reavers were killed, arrested, or reformed, a handful of bands are known to have fled deeper into the Underzone, leaving a legacy which continues to inspire tales of mysterious sightings and even attacks.
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