Overview
The so-called Scavver-Breeders are a band of pirates that prey on vessels passing through the asteroid field known as The Grinder in Greyspace. Instead of attacking ships themselves, however, they rely on a pack of pet scavvers to do most of the grunt work, only approaching to plunder a target ship after it has been brought to a halt and any resistance taken care of.
Activities
Through an intensive program of selective breeding, the Scavver-Breeders have created strains of semi-intelligent brown and night scavvers capable of understanding (and remembering) simple commands, though their loyalty remains somewhat questionable.
The one-eyed beasts are trained to attack passing ships in large packs of up to 10 or 20 scavvers, killing crew members and swallowing valuables from all over the ship's deck. Once the scavvers return to the pirate's hidden base (known as the ranch), the breeders use a magic device that creates a localised dimension door effect, allowing them to remove valuables from their gullets without harming them. They then use a ring of telepathy on the scavvers to determine the location of the derelict ships they attacked, allowing salvage crews to recover whatever cargo or other valuables remained, as well as capturing any survivors.
The Scavver-Breeders sell the loot they recover at reputable trading posts throughout The Grinder and elsewhere, while the prisoners are kept bound and gagged, to be fed to the scavvers as necessary.
Base of Operations
The Scavver-Breeders have claimed a large section of the asteroid field known as The Grinder in Greyspace as their territory and hunting grounds. They have since established a base of operations (referred to as the "ranch" or "farm") where they breed and train their scavvers.
Ships
The Scavver-Breeders own a sizeable fleet of ships, though they rely on their scavvers to do most of the pillaging for them. They use these ships to recover items too large for their pets to swallow and to capture any survivors. However, should the survivors put up a credible fight, the cowardly pirates are likely to withdraw, even with numbers on their side. Their flotilla currently includes eight angelships, two barges of Ptah and a bolaship. The breeders paint their ships a bright red, having trained their pets not to attack any vessels painted that color: so deeply ingrained is this conditioning, however, that the salvage crews have to wear red clothing as well so as to avoid being attacked by the scavvers.
Members
The Scavver-Breeders are organised much like a guild, and are led by a mysterious and fractious group of seven members, known as the High Council. The Council does not run the band directly; instead they appoint senior officers, with various roles and responsibilities. However, these officers are typically appointed due to favoritism and cronyism, not merit or skill, which results in a high turnover as those who are unqualified or incapable are replaced by new incumbents almost on a weekly basis. The current officers include:
- Alec, the Supervising Breeder, who is responsible for every aspect of the scavver breeding program. His duties include selecting which individual beasts are to be mated, as well as maintaining a complete record of all breeding activities, proper tagging of individual scavvers and the retirement of old stock.
- Danij Viper. the Administrating Feeder, who is responsible for all captives (humanoids, monsters and animals alike) taken by the breeders, since they serve as the main source of food for the scavvers.
- The Aptitude Adjuster, who is responsible for conducting various experiments aimed at increasing the intelligence of the scavvers. The program has been successful thus far, producing at least two strains of semi-intelligent scavvers.
- Volt, the Fleet Commandant, who commands the small flotilla of ships owned by the Scavver-Breeders, and leads them into battle when needed.
Rumors
Some observers believe that wish spells have been used to improve the intelligence of the scavvers, but of course the Aptitude Adjuster isn't admitting to anything.