Reaver
Reavers is a name given to any of the petty warlords or pirates who have operated in the area of space known as Reaver's Deep. The term has also been applied to other piratical organizations.
Description (Specifications)[edit]
| Privateer Ranks (Commerce Raider: Corsair / Privateer) |
|---|
| Officer Rank |
| R10 /O6+ » (Varies) |
| R09 /O5 » Group Leader |
| R08 /O4 » Leader |
| R07b/O3b» Captain |
| R07a/O3a» Captain-Lieutenant |
| R06 /O2 » First Lieutenant |
| R05 /O1 » Second Lieutenant |
| R04b /O0» (Third Lieutenant) / (Warrant Officer (Bosun)) |
| Ordinary Rank |
| R04a /WO» Warrant Officer (Chief) (various positions / titles) |
| R03 /E4 » Sergeant / (Mate) |
| R02 /E3 » Corporal / (Able Crew) |
| R01 /E2 » Henchman / Raider / Reaver / Marine |
| R00 /E1 » Apprentice Henchman / Raider |
| R00 /E0 » Lackey / Recruit |
Towards the end of Twilight, some of the less affected states in outlying sectors turned to plundering the old Terran Confederation worlds that had lost interstellar ship technology. These plunderers were called Reavers and differed from ordinary pirates by preying on entire worlds. This lent their name a special horror that has endured down the centuries even into the era of the Third Imperium. Most of the Reavers came from Dark Nebula, Alpha Crucis, Magyar and of course Reaver's Deep.
Reavers often use a paramilitary seniority system of "ranking", though the specifics can vary. Ranks listed in italics in the chart at right tend to be specific to more formal and "official" Starmerc organizations, and although some Reavers used some of these titles historically, most common freebooter ranks tended to be more simplified and varied more widely, typically including only the non-italicized ranks shown (or their linguistic equivalents).
Reaver's Cant[edit]
After decades -- often centuries -- of isolation from civil society, many Reaver bands developed their own variety of Reavers Cant.
In some systems -- those of the Khan World League and the Grand Duchy of Marlheim being the major examples -- Reavers Cant eventually developed into official or semi-official state languages, as legitimate nations coalesced around former Reaver bands.
History & Background (Dossier)[edit]
Some historians hold that the Reaver era ended in -1118, when a Reaver fleet from the Opljiok Defense League lost two thirds of its ships in an attack on Jarslav (Solomani Rim 0123). With the Aslan becoming ever stronger, the various Reaver states in Magyar and Dark Nebula grew unwilling to risk such losses.
On the other hand, the name continued to be applied to independent warlords, those escaping from the breakup or takeover of a small state. With a few working ships, these warlords could easily make their way into the Great Unknown and have a good chance of dominating one or several primitive worlds. Some of the most notorious Reaver lords like Blackjack Duquesne, Orchid Wu Lu, and Grand Admiral Izanak belong to the period from -1120 to -1000. During the latter half of the Long Night it became common to label an opponent a reaver, thereby justifying practically any treatment of that opponent.
Expansion by Aslan and Imperial interests into the region, culminating in the last of the Aslan Border Wars (200-380) led to a lessening of the Reaver presence. But in the aftermath of those wars, the neutral strip of border worlds in Reaver's Deep became havens for criminals and pirates such as "Hellion" Murdoch and others of his ilk.
To this day, the name Reaver is sometimes applied, often in a fanciful or romantic manner, to freebooters, pirates, privateers, or occasionally, to small interstellar states found in the area of their historic activity.
A violent state in distant Katoonah Sector has also been labelled with the name Reaver. This may provide a clue as to the origins of the local Human population.
Worlds & Sectors (Astrography)[edit]
This group is or was primarily found in the following areas:
World Listing: 1105[edit]
The following systems and worlds are associated with this group:
References[edit]
- Marc Miller. Pirates (Far Future Enterprises, 2025), .
- Classic Traveller Solomani (Alien Module)
- Periodical: Classic Traveller Far Traveller 1 in Article: 'Library Computer'
- Periodical: Traveller Chronicle 6 in Article: 'Library Data'
- Randy Dorman. The Deep and the Dark (Mongoose Publishing, 2023), 6.
- Author & Contributor: Hans Rancke-Madsen
- Author & Contributor: Mitchberg