Wyrlde does have those who band together for illegal and often violent theft and extortion and other crimes. They are general scourges to trade and travel, and while some are land and some are sea, they are all called the same thing: Corsairs.
Corsair camps are found in out of the way, easily defensible places, though on occasion some have even grown large enough to strike up small villages or hamlets. Corsair groups are typically led by a charismatic leader, often with some form of gift, and are dangerous people who have strong rules for keeping such groups of people in line. Corsair Camps are often based in ancient ruins and may even use a Goblin Lair that was cleaned out and sealed off. This often puts the onus on Adventurers to help wipe out entire bands who have become too large or too threatening.
Corsairs engage in open banditry and piracy, often taking on tasks of robbery and theft, raiding and sometimes pillaging. Corsairs are known to engage in slave taking, and other unsavory acts. Not all corsairs are wicked, and redemption seems to be a theme among them once they have seen too much, but often the true key to a corsair is that they come from a background of disenfranchisement and harm at large scales. Many Corsairs operate secretly in service to some realm or other.
Extreme poverty, raids by goblins or infestations of imps, the often-absent presence of the local Lords, famine, drought, crop failures – the sources are always something that has placed people in a situation where they must either become desperate to fend for themselves, or they have to find a way to provide for their families. Those who are more likely to operate solo or in groups of not more than five are called Brigands.
Corsair Camps often are led by one who leads through skill and cunning, a true Rogue, whose ability to deal with many things is only the start. They will have Seconds, and Thirds, who help to enforce their will – but also provide training and teaching of the crafts of those who would be corsair, in what is very much an apprenticeship all of its own.
Corsair camps are not often self-sufficient, and often will raid not for wealth, but for supplies. There are many large Corsair groups operating at any given time – it often seems as if once you take out one, another will rise in their place. Corsairs love to attack Exilian caravans, because they always travel with enough to feed themselves, and as a result Exilian caravans are not the easiest prey.
The spoils of a corsair group are often divided evenly among those who did the despoiling. Many will contact a guild for fencing, or perhaps try to pass themselves off as ordinary merchants with goods that they came by honestly, in order to find the coin to live. They then take those earnings back to the camps, where there are individuals and families who live and struggle together, often in defiance of the local customs and laws, living by what most of the all the Higher Law.
One corsair I know, who styles himself as “The King of Thieves” has five camps, scattered through three of the realms, and what comes to him often finds its way to those who have the greatest need of it. Not that he is a kindhearted sort, mind you – for all his charm and manners, he is as wicked as any other when the blade touches the throat.
As a result, while many Corsairs are hostile to the Foe on their own turf, they may not be so opposed to dealing with them in some circumstances – a corruption that always pleases Pallor.
