Scavver Caravans

Scavvers, Pickers, Rooks

"There’s wealth and opportunity anywhere you look and under that, if you’re smart enough”

Symbol

Each Scavver Caravan has their own symbol, but many use the side view of a four wheeled wagon as a general symbol for all of them. In simpler iconographies, they instead display three rectangles in a horizontal line, each connected to the one beside it. This represents the caravan trains that is universal for all Scavvers.

Aesthetic

Scavenged, mismatched, and self-made armor, tools, and weapons are often what people look for when they look for Scavvers. Certainly their own personal habits and love of incense do not make them smell like dumpster divers. But otherwise, the Scavvers themselves are rarely held to any other unifying markings, such is their open door policy to whoever wants to join them or avail of their services. To the Caravans themselves, there are specific things they look for that differentiate the members of one Clan to another. The Fomori like to wear hats, for example, while the Owls are known for their headbands and goggles.

Lore Level: Low

Scavver lore is primarily the basic knowledge of one specific Caravan. Straightforward and easy to absorb.

Outlook

Brave but Cunning: The heroes and explorers of the Scavver Caravans are daring enough to explore the dangerous places of the World, but they combine this bravery with wisdom and prudence. This manifests in having escape plans (including escape skills) and approaching each situation with caution (i.e. looking for traps or ambushes). 

The Hoard: Scavvers like to keep their persons light, although they do carry what they need in their patchwork/stitched backpacks, pouches, and bags. They place the majority of their goods with their Caravan or in a well-protected vault or safe -- otherwise, it would be all too easy for their valuables to be stolen from them. 

On the Move: Scavvers are a nomadic people, rarely staying in one place for too long even while resting. This also manifests in their movements: they pace when thinking, physically respond when listening, and are very evocative with their hands while talking. 

Scav Talk: Many Scavvers develop a demi-language based on their shared culture. This is much akin to the Thieves’ Cant of the World that Was and allows individuals to discuss their plans in the open while appearing to talk about something benign or speaking gibberish. 

Songs and Dance: The Scavvers are fond of song, music, story and dance. Even when not participating in these past-times, there is a certain poetic, musical quality to their movements and their speech that even “refined folk” find enchanting though rough. Songs and stories are entertaining ways to pass the time and conversations have a tendency of building bridges and revealing secrets.

The Laws of Picking: (1) Only the living can have possessions. Therefore, looting the dead is permissible. (2) Your family/Caravan have secondary ownership to your items when you die. A virtuous Scavver may do their best to bring recovered possessions to a dead person’s family. (3) You own something if you pick it up unless it belonged to someone else first - except for Components which belong to anyone that has them.

Names

Scavver names run the gamut of different cultures and communities, especially with the way that their caravans and convoys wind across the landscape. However, they tend toward short and distinct names, usually followed by an alliterative or rhyming nickname. Members of prominence, influence, or leadership may go with esteemed titles such as “Elder” or “Old Man” but these tend toward the informal rather than the formal. 

Example Names:

• Roz Rivets is a Metabionic Patch-Fixer that specializes in tinkering and strange gadgets. Whether Roz means Rosanna or Rosario, she does not say. 

• Yul the Mule was named Ulysses by his parents but his stubbornness and his signature backpack have won him this title from his friends. 

• Shallow Maeve is a nickname for a Bone-Picker who is also a Risen. She takes the nickname with grace, though she is usually the last to wake up in her warband.

Example Character Ideas:

The following are some character concepts that may be seen from this Free Tribe. If desired, feel free to use or alter one of these for your character.

Bone-Picker: Bone-Pickers and ruin-delvers are seen as the lowest of the low by most of the world, but it is a respected profession among the Scavvers. These folk brave irradiated ruins and shrouded battlefields for loot and reggies, selling their findings to magpies or scholars for better gear and better Elixirs beforegoing out for more. Many have taken insults against them as points of pride, referring to themselves and others in their profession as “Crows.”  

Suggested Classes: Arcanist, Ranger

Junk-Taker: When a Bone-picker comes back from a dangerous delve, they do not seek out their family or their kin,they seek out their Junk-Takers, or “Magpies.” These are individuals that buy the various baubles and loot that their clientele bring to them. Some of these items are sold, others are used to craft more useful items, while others are set aside for strange buyers. Some Magpies’ collections are so large that they hide them in caches rather than allow the burden to slow their wagons (and thus the entire Caravan Clan).

Suggested Classes: Builder, Counselor

Patch-Fixers: Despite their reputation for grave robbing and ruin-delving, the Scavvers prize the building arts most of all. These Patch-Fixers, or “Finches” in Scavver parlance, wreak tools and supplies out of the raw and rudimentary components of the World Beyond the Fall. Individual Finches are responsible for some of the greatest engineering and chemical advances in the Mid-Atlantic, their recipes proliferated and sold by Caravans across the continent.

Suggested Classes: Builder, Counselor

Scrap-Changers: Regarded as well as Patch-Fixers, Scrap-Changers (aka “Mockers”) are Arcanists and spell users that specialize in Transmutation and Infusion. Scrap-Changers do have some healing abilities, but they are best at the manipulation of materials. They are boons to those craft and those who do rituals. Scrap-Changers also have another talent that the Scavvers appreciate—the ability to duplicate an item using materials and magic, regardless of the spell user’s expertise. While some consider the act tantamount to stealing, Scavvers take their exception to this accusation while often taking their leave.

Suggested Classes: Arcanist, Builder

Wagon-Watcher: Few are the individuals that dare attack a Caravan head on due to the presence of Wagon-Watchers, sometimes called “Grackles” pejoratively. These Scavvers are the closest that a Caravan has to soldiers (though they are used primarily for defense), with the Ember War being the main exception. These individuals are trained and equipped with the best of Scavver tech. Amongst other things, this means the use of potent firearms and the siege weapons called “Casters.”

Suggested Classes: Builder, Warrior

Leadership

The Scavver Caravans do not hail one leader, though the Ratking’s Pilot (the Jack of Japes) claims this position for himself. Each Caravan is led by a Pilot who is advised by their people. 

That said, many of the smaller Caravans recognize the influence of the bigger or more significant ones (listed in the Power Groups section). This means that these more influential Caravans can coerce or employ their more mobile allies to specific actions or causes. 

To that end, while the Free Tribes recognize the Scavver Caravans as part of them, they need only to reach out to the major Caravans when calling for a meeting. Of these, only the Ratkings, the Rainbirds, and the Fomori are the prime responders when a meeting is called for by the other Tribes. The other Caravans respond only at their own whims. 

Scavver History

Important Events:

Beyond the Fall (0 BTF): After fleeing their cities and towns, many groups of people just never stopped traveling. Whereas they began their journeys as an escape, their travels soon became their very destination. 

The Scavver Caravans (16 BTF): With larger groups, the Caravans needed bigger and better vehicles. They needed to return to their ruined cities. These explorations provided salvage that the Caravans kept themselves or sold to the communities they encountered -- this eventually gave them the name they now bear.

No Kings or Lords (23 BTF): The Scavvers have no central leadership or high council with which to pass down laws. Each Caravan is its own Kingdom and Tribe in their own way, though they share some culture. However, in the decades after the Long Fall, complicated bonds and feuds have grown between the Caravans.

Across the Swell (37 BTF): Led by Tomtom the Spider, a group of nomads appear in the Midwest, claiming to have crossed the Mississippi Swell from the west. They join up with a small Scavver Caravan, which eventually becomes the Tommy Caravan. 

Magna-tech and Hearthwagons (45 BTF): The Dirtdozer Caravan is credited with bringing Magna-Tech engines to the Scavver Caravans. Within the next decade, Magna-tech became a staple in every large town and in every Caravan. Among the Caravans themselves, the Hearthwagon would follow soon afterward, providing power, warmth, and Magna-storm protection.

Hellhound Raiders (52 BTF): The Hellhound Motorgangs of the Mid-West begin raiding the areas around them for scrap. Caravans either stop going to affected areas, go only to areas protected by the Grailguard, or pay the Motorgangs tribute. 

The Goblins and Rats (68 BTF): The Fomori appear on the scene, believed to be an offshoot of the Ratkings that were exiled for committing crimes. Some in the Fomori claim that they were the survivors of a power struggle within the Ratkings, escaping with their lives.  

The Archfactions (83 BTF): The idea of the Illustrados or Templars invading never seemed to be a threat to the Scavvers, since they were themselves nomadic. The new tech and new magics brought to their lands also kindled immense interest and some thievery -- the Scavvers are believed to be responsible for the proliferation of certain items and knowledges that should have been proprietary to each Archfaction.

The Free Tribes (87 BTF): The reports of the Dustriders and the Grailguard were enough to draw many Scavver Caravans to the side of the Free Tribes alongside the Cartels, and the Vundarkin.  

The War over Embers (90 BTF): The Scavvers’ allies also benefited from their maps and their road knowledge, allowing them to anticipate or exploit enemy positions. Though needed, their expertise was costly -- at least half of the participating Caravans were completely wiped out or so depleted that their remnants joined other Caravans.

Armistice (96 BTF): Despite the grievous injuries of the Harbinger War, the Armistice has allowed the Scavvers to return once again to their nomadic ways. There are some Caravans, however, that have found their positions of power within the Free Tribes to be of great use to them and continue their associations thereby.

The Current Era (99 BTF): Six Caravans have arisen into prominence and influence among their fellows. When they speak and act, big and small families take these into account -- following them, rejecting them, or blazing their own path. These Caravans are listed in the Power Groups webpage. 

Important People and Groups

The Dustrider Militias: A large group of travelers from the southwest, similar to the Scavver Caravans in transportation. They have settled down and co-mingled among several mountain towns. 

The Free Tribes: A group of communities and tribes based in and around the Mid-Atlantic (aka Mid-Atla) area, but also within the New England, Tidewater, and Midwest regions. These include the Grailguard, the Scavver Caravans, the Hellhounds, the Dustriders, and the Pack-Hunters. 

The Grailguard Wardens: A community of honor-bound soldiers, smiths, and scholars that wish to retrieve and preserve the knowledge of the past. 

The Harbingers/Harbinger Hosts: Four sorcerous entities of incredible power and the monstrous armies that followed them. They came from the west and savaged their way to Mid-Atla until they were stopped by the combined efforts of the Free Tribes, the Illustrados, and the Temple. 

The Hellhound Motorgangs: The name of raider groups that ride on motorized ATVs and strike out from the northern Midwest. 

The Illustrados Union: An Caribbean-based Archfaction known for their technological wonders, their mercantile bent, and their naval prowess

The Scavver Caravans: More than a dozen nomadic communities that travel with wagons and carts, some of which are motorized with Magna-tech. They are named for their looting of old world cities. 

The Temple of the Shattered Mother (aka Templars): An northern Archfaction based on their faith to the God-Empress and dedicated to the destruction of wickedness and eldritch evil.

The Vundarkin Packhunters: The Vundarkin Packhutners are simple and small bands of associated families that wander the wilderness. Many choose a spiritual “Whisper” to follow as a guide.

Scavver Power Groups

Below are the major Power Groups among the Scavver Caravans. By no means are these the only Caravans that exist among the Scavvers. 

Indeed, Player Characters are welcome to submit their own Caravans to Game Staff for approval. 

However, the ones below are the biggest and/or most influential of the factions within the Scavvers. Furthermore, all of the listed Caravans are part of the Free Tribes -- not all Scavver Caravans have joined the Free Tribes. 

The Dirtdozer Caravan: A Caravan known for its slow, tank-like wagons, skilled engineering, and its scrap-armored sentinels.

The Fomori Caravan: A Caravan that deals in dangerous goods and illicit activities, rumored to be thieves and smugglers.

The Owl Caravan: A spiritual Caravan of mystics, channelers, and astrologers that peddle knowledge and lores. 

The Rainbird Caravan: A Caravan of Healers, Loreseekers, and Arcanists skilled in mixing technology and magic. 

The Ratkings Caravan: The biggest and oldest of the Scavver Caravans, the Ratkings claim to be the speakers for their fellow Caravans. 

The Tommy Caravan: A Caravan known for trade, prosperity, and networking, sometimes with a penchant for pranks. 

The Dirtdozer Caravan

Dozers, Plodders

“Slow and steady and always ready”

Basic: A Caravan known for its slow, tank-like wagons, skilled engineering, and its scrap-armored sentinels.

Symbol: A tortoise with rivets in its shell.

Overview: For the communities of Mid-Atla, columns of grey steam and the slow grind of treads upon road signal the coming of the Dirtdozer Caravan, much to their delight. Before they discovered Magnatech in Mid-Atla, Dozer wagons and carts were pulled by mutated oxen or powered by steaming engines. They have since shared their discovery with the other Caravans and even the settlements they visit. 

This generosity has ingratiated them to many settlements, though it is not the only example of their charity.  Many credit the lack of cars on the roads of Mid-Atla to the Dirtdozers picking them apart for scrap and using them for their tech. The Dozers themselves don’t like to claim credit, but their armor plated wagons speak for themselves. On the other hand, they also like to fix roadways and maintain bridges. Their repairs appear patchwork but are durable against time and elements, at least until they come around again. 

Dozer Grackles and even their Pickers are almost as armored as their wagons. They like to carry scrap metal on their person, or hang such items around their neck. Most of them wear Scrap Kits and know how to use them. They are the most tech heavy of the Scavvers, preferring it over the volatility and corruptive effects of magic use. 

Leadership: The current Pilot for the Dozers is a Metabionic named Beetle Bartleby or “Old Beetleby” to his Caravan. Though his Picking days are behind him, he is an excellent blacksmith and engineer -- which is to his preference anyway. 

Bartleby is gruff and would rather work than talk, but he is popular with his Caravan.for his past deeds and his heroism in the Ember War. During the Battle of the Broken Bell, he led the Dozers in the defense of the supply lines. The resulting skirmish critically wounded the Pilot and he survived only through Metabionic implantation.

The Fomori Caravan

Mori, Goblins

“Danger and opportunity are spokes of the same wheel” 

Basic: A Caravan that deals in dangerous goods and illicit activities, rumored to be thieves and smugglers.

Symbol: A two headed turkey vulture. 

Overview: The Fomori are a recent development, persisting only in the last 3 decades or so. Many claim that they are brigands and raiders that have “gone straight” and settled down. Indeed, an onlooker can’t help but agree when looking. at the members of this ramshackle Caravan and its scarred, hardened members. 

Their Pickers go into dangerous areas such as the hearts of cities or the depths of military bases to find rare tech or radioactive material. Similarly, they chase down or put out bounties for creatures that they know to be profitable. These parts and reagents are sold to wealthier individuals with an added cost for the danger in their retrieval. 

The Fomori are much more likely to recruit than normal, owing to their more hazardous doings. Their tendencies differ from the other Scavvers in that they are more militant and more ready to defend themselves from attack. It is also said that the Fomori are overfond of “dirty tactics” -- ambushes, poisoning water supplies, traps, and similar measures to make quick work of an enemy. 

This has led them to receiving more disdain than other Scavver Caravans. Many of them are scarred, disfigured, and/or bearing unsightly Stigmata. Some folk believe that the Fomori actively recruit such individuals for their fearsomeness and to boost their reputation -- the more scars, the better. 

Because of their reputation and their successes, they deal primarily with the Cartel and occasionally the Priesthood of the Hellhounds. This results in high payouts rather than the smaller but more reliable profits had by most other Scavvers. If looking for a hazardous reagent, one can count on the Fomori to have it or to know where to get it. 

Indeed, this Caravan has been “run out” of several communities for scaring the locals or dealing in the grotesque. However, townsfolk and other Caravaneers still seek them out so they camp far from a town (but not too far) before spreading the word of their presence. Then, the buyers come in flocks. 

Leadership: Cannon O’Bannon is the current Pilot of the Fomori and is never too far away from the Magna-powered weapon that is his namesake. O’Bannon is a visibly scarred old Seraph that oversaw the formation of this Caravan and its rise in influence over the past few decades. 

Like many Pilots, his interests lie in the protection of his people and his own profit (which he reasons, is their profit). He prides himself and his Caravan in their capacity to do what other folk are unwilling to do or too cowardly to even attempt. But he is no fool -- two of the Caravan’s wagons are
“containment carts” that are suited to holding hazardous materials or dangerous people. He even brags that one of them held a Harbinger for a time, though he speaks little of the exact details of that event. 

The Owl Caravan

Strixes, Moonwatchers

“Like our Nightseer, we are ever watchful”

Basic: A spiritual Caravan of mystics, channelers, and astrologers that peddle knowledge and lores. 

Symbol: An Owl in flight, sometimes with clouds above them.

Overview: The Owls trace their lineage to a small nomadic tribe that were saved from danger by an owl-like entity they call the “Night Seer”. Warned of monstrous predators on their tails, this tribe fled immediately and their exodus was hidden by their spiritual ally. In addition to worshipping and communing with this nocturnal spirit, their Animancers wear owl masks on their sleeves and their banners feature a wizened owl in flight. They value stealth, wisdom, and cunning over brutality and war. To wit, they are a small Caravan compared to their peers, but no less respected for their seniority and their foresight.

During the War over Embers, they assisted the Archfactions with intelligence gathered through their scouts and their Diviners. While their losses were comparatively few, their Pilot and her family fell to an ambush by the Smiling Shadow. This caused them to withdraw from the War in its final years. 

Ever steeped in spirituality and shamanism, the Owls have a reputation for knowing the right things and being in the right place. Their people are recognized for their owl iconography and the goggles that mimic their spiritual savior. Many of these Scavvers are Psions and Chimera  and those of them that are Channelers are often skilled Diviners and Veilers. Those without magical talents are not bereft of ability either, their scouts and hunters are as silent as their namesake and just as perceptive.  The Owls have never been particularly technological. They eschewed even the use of a typical Hearthwagon. Only recently did the Rainbirds gift them a Shamanic Hearthwagon, whose magical maintenance is easier for the Owls.

The Owls also have a maddening reputation of speaking in circles rather than speaking plainly. The philosophers among them will often answer a question with a question, sometimes seeming wise and other times seeming foolish.

Leadership: Chula One-Eyed is the current Pilot of the Owl Caravan and a survivor of the Smiling Shadow’s ambush. Though she is of relative youth, the Winged Chimera has grown into her role with swiftness. Some of her people say that she is still haunted by that ambush and the death of her mentor during the Ember War. However, this is not apparent to most folk, and most outsiders except when the Harbingers are mentioned. She is keen for any information regarding them, though she knows almost all there is to know -- Chula is said to possess secrets that she should not be aware of. 

As Pilot, she has never deviated from the course of her Caravan. They still ply the usual routes as best as they can. However, it is known that she has sent some of her Covey out on information gathering missions at some personal cost to her own coffers. 

The Rainbird Caravan

Rainbirds, Riverbirds

“Look to the birds in the sky, they will tell you when it will rain”

Basic: A Caravan of Healers, Loreseekers, and Arcanists skilled in mixing technology and magic. 

Symbol: A small bird beneath a leaf

Overview: Known for their semi-amphibious wagons, the Rainbird Caravan are especially sought out by townsfolk due to their expertise with herbs, spirits, and elixirs. Thus, those suffering from Disease or Curses know to ask the Rainbirds for a cure. While they have been known to help others for a price, they are secretive and elusive. 

The Rainbird’s expertise with arcana and technology is a thing of wonder. Their hearthwagon is relatively silent due to the modifications they have made upon it, radiating an Infusion field instead of a Magna-field to similar effect. When their Obfuscation magics fail them, they defend their Caravans with Runic or Eldritchcraft weaponry as much as they do so with spellcraft. 

Such is the mystery of this Caravan that settlements claim that it appears and disappears with the winds. The blame is better laid on their Obfuscation magics and their ability to travel over water. Still, most communities consider a visit from the Rainbirds a blessing and are willing to pay their fees for healing or other wares. 

Leadership: Hummingbird is an Empath Psion and the Pilot of the Rainbirds, though they are not an Arcanist themselves. They earned their position through a reputation for leadership and cunning, outmaneuvering even the Channelers of their Caravan for popularity. 

With Hummingbird at the reins, the Rainbirds have become more vocal and involved in the happenings of the World Beyond the Fall. They volunteered their Caravan to the Free Tribes and against the Harbingers, though the losses from the latter were minimal. The Rainbirds even deal with the Temple and the Illustrados on infrequent occasions, adapting new techniques to their already prodigious expertise. This has prompted some critique from the more conservative folk in the Caravan, though the trading benefits have quelled these for the moment. 

The Ratkings Caravan

Kings, Ratlings

“With enough hard work and elbow grease, anyone can be their own King”

Basic: The biggest and oldest of the Scavver Caravans, the Ratkings claim to be the speakers for their fellow Caravans. 

Symbol: A tin crown, sometimes painted gold and with faux gems. Each Ratking wears a crown, though few can match the ostentatious crown of the Caravan Pilot. 

Overview: The Ratkings claim to be an old Caravan, their existence dating even back to the Long Fall. That said, the stories of their families are more than a little muddled -- they began as a fusion of several different Scavver families that worked together to become one Caravan. In addition to being willing to recruit almost anyone, the Ratkings’ true origins remain shrouded in mystery.

However, what cannot be denied is their influence upon the rest of Mid-Atla and the other Scavver Caravans. Many other Scavvers are offshoots of the Ratkings, in some way or form. In fact, the Kings’  Caravan Pilots help finance these newcomers as long as they lend their assistance to the Ratkins. Nothing is more important to the Ratkings than loyalty, which is why they are willing to keep incompetent or even dangerous individuals in the name of unity. 

The Ratkings are like most other Caravans except in scope -- their roster numbers at almost a thousand individuals. Their logistical and command chains are more complex and authoritarian than the other Caravans. To that end, they have the largest military force among the Scavvers. However, it is believed that their Grackles are poorly equipped and trained, only a little healthier and stronger than the Fringers they harass. 

The Ratkings travel only several times a year. Instead, they set up mini-villages outside a ruin or junkyard and stay there for months, sometimes up to a year before moving on. While thusly encamped, they bolster their defenses, set up their supply lines, plant temporary food gardens, then send their Pickers to work. As scrap and similar valuables are salvaged, they are appraised of value within the encampment and then sent out by smaller groups to nearby towns for trade. 

Leadership: The Jack of Japes is the current Pilot for the Ratkings and claims to be a speaker for the Scavver Caravans. His arrogance has some truth in it, all Caravans owe some trade or favor to the Ratkings -- Jack of Japes is tightfisted in most matters but has bouts of “generosity” where he expects debts and loans to be paid back. 

The Tommy Caravan

Webwalkers, Goldies

“It is never foolish to look for a friend”

Basic: A Caravan known for trade, prosperity, and networking, sometimes with a penchant for pranks. 

Symbol: A spider within a full golden ring or an eclipsed sun

Overview: The Tommys are an old Caravan, having been around for the past six decades. Led by and named after Tomtom the Spider, they came from west of the Mississippi Swell. It is unknown how they crossed that vast and dangerous river, and it is one topic of many that they will never give a straight answer about. The Tommys are known to often have what you need in a pinch. They are well liked by locals because their goods are in decent repair or from distant regions. For the Tommys, their reputation matters a lot more than profit, though the two are intertwined.

The Tommys excelled at Picking through the World that Was for salvage and for loot, easily making customers with the Grailguard and nearby communities. Such was their popularity that they have strong relationships with many Midwestern towns and villages, drawing people from them and retiring among them when they tired of travel. On the other hand, their relations with the Grailguard are far less amiable because of the Tommys’ love of pranks. 

Even before the War over Embers, the Tommys worked with the Grailguard in their campaign against the Hivelings. They were no stranger to the horrors of the brain-stealing insectoid and assisted the Clankers with their bridge across the Swell and their supply lines during their war. They contributed again to the Grailguard during the evacuation of Grailhome and the surrounding holdings. Naturally, they accepted more than accolades for their help, but the Tommys were more than content to stay out of the limelight. 

Leadership: Moody Mazka runs the Tommys as their Pilot. By most accounts, she is a calm individual, a perceptive buyer, and a great negotiator. Her name comes from her infrequent changes in coloration every year, as she molts her Chimeric scales for a new set. Few other  Chimera have this same “problem” but Moody likes to take it in stride -- indeed, no one truly knows her age and she retains the spryness of youth. 

Scavver Society

The Scavvers are not a unified people, connected only by some shared culture amongst each of the Caravans. Yet, despite the distances between these groups, their experiences and their meetings have created no small amount of similarities among them. 

The Caravan

Rostering approximately 50-300 individuals, this is the center of the Scavver social structure, second only to one’s family. To belong to a Scavver Caravan is to always have a home and a people. A Caravan does not always get along with each other but they are close-knit, a second family for a Scavver.

Whether pulled by beasts or powered by Magna-tech, a Caravan’s trundlers and hearthwagons are as distinctive to outsiders as they are to each specific Caravan. The latter is a Caravan’s heart, a source of heat and energy that must be maintained and upkept. This heat keeps the community alive in the cold, wards off the worst of a Magnastorm’s effects, and can even lend to their defense. 

These Caravans move across the breadth of Mid-Atla and nearby regions, following roads and trundling across them. The knots of old world traffic have been stripped clean wherever they are found and when the roads were all that remained, they moved from town to town. As traders, they sold what was scarce and bought what was plentiful. Individuals join a Caravan here and “Castoffs” are left behind.

Similarly, a group of families may decide to leave a Caravan -- this may be because the Caravan has grown too large, for political reasons, or for any other reason. In any and all cases, this is how new Caravans are created. These take aspects of their previous community’s culture but add in their own take. Thus, related Caravans may have strained or friendly relations with each other depending on the nature of the break and any happenings since then. For example, many Caravans trace their lineage to the incredibly large Ratking Caravan. In a similar way, several Caravans are “siblings” to each other and share the same faith in a Whisper. 

Social Strata

• Pilot: Leader of the Caravan, chosen by a majority vote. 

• Cove/Covey (pl Coveys): The main body of the Caravan - crafters, fighters, and successful pickers. 

• Coveykith: These are the members of other Caravans in good standing.

• Fringer: The less fortunate members of the Caravan - laborers, porters, and unsuccessful pickers.

• Poke (aka Plodder): These are non-Scavvers, treated politely but with caution. 

• Castoffs: Former members of a Caravan, left at the next town. 
  
  

At the top of Scavver society is the Pilot, leader of the community and the commander of the Wagon Watchers (aka Grackles). This office is an elected one by Coveys and Fringers. It is removed by death, retirement, or, in the case of unpopular Pilots, mutiny. With the exception of a Caravan’s scouts, a Pilot’s vehicle leads the way.

The Coveys are right beneath the Pilot in Caravan influence and power. These are those who craft, those who can fight, and those made wealthy enough from Delving to maintain their own wagon. Some Coveys families are above others by means of wealth, as evidenced by the upgrades and number of their wagons.  Since every Craft requires Components or materials, society relies on its people to go out and gather them or trade for them. There’s always a wheel that needs mending or a new upgrade to the hearth wagon. 

Riding drag at the ends of Scavver society are the Fringers. These have smaller wagons or have only tents. These are characterized by a perceived lack of craft, talent, or supporting family. Many work as laborers, porters, or, if they are desperate enough, Delvers. There is classist prejudice toward Fringers from other Scavvers, though with enough wealth and a wagon, they are able to ascend to becoming a Covey. At night, Fringers live farthest from the Hearthwagon with only the Grackle posts between them and the wilderness.

Spoken only in covered whispers and with shaken heads are the Castoffs. These are unfortunate souls who cannot keep up with the Caravan and no Wagon to ride. The Caravan finds a place for Castoffs to stay at the next town with enough wealth for a meagre living. Becoming a Castoff can also be a punishment for a crime or for disobeying the Caravan Pilot. 

Upbringing

Every Scavver journeys with the Caravan, on foot or on wheels. From birth, each child is taught this truth and their first steps by their nuclear family -- their first home. These ties of blood often bring assistance and obligation to the fledgeling Scavver. An appreciation for tech and a fear of scarcity marks much of early this education as well as the bundle of chores that are required of a nomadic existence. Until they are more able, they carry tools during repairs, baskets during gathering trips, and similar tasks. 

Beyond the family’s education is that of the Caravan. Most youths receive the rest of their instruction from the community. The techkeeper teaches them lores and tools. The scouts teach them the outside and its dangers. The Wagon Watchers teach them battle and if they violate the Pilot’s law, fledgelings are also taught pain. 

Those who have talent may be picked up by a Cove member and trained further in a particular craft. Those who don’t become porters, or better yet, they become pickers. “Castoffs” are those who have no use to the Caravan and no family to speak for them. These are left behind at the next town with enough wealth for a meagre existence. 

Rumors are abound of bloodthirsty Caravans who burn their Castoffs in Hearthwagons or use their souls for Necrotech, but no one has found any of these terrible Scavvers. 

Stigmata in the Scavvers

Any Stigmata can be found within the ranks of the Scavver Caravans. They intermingle with many of the settlements and Caravans that they meet. The exceptions to this are the Metabionic and Eidolonic Stigmata. Very few Eidolons exist among the Scavvers because it is a recent invention. More Metabionics ride with the Caravans, though they are primarily of Scav-tech or Eldritch-tech construction. 

Laws and Punishments

Caravan Law varies among the different Caravans since they may have widely different views to the world despite some shared culture. For some, the use of spellcraft is restricted to certain types of people. For others, every member but the infirm are required to go Delving at least once a year. 

Common Laws: However, the universal constants apply - willful murder is outlawed, as is aggravated assault upon one’s peers. Some Caravans outlaw attacking any other humans entirely except for self-defense but most care little for the lives of Outsiders. Most Scavver Caravans don’t attack townsfolk from places they visit for fear of retaliation and to maintain good relations with them - the latter is more important than the former. A town that strikes first is a town that forfeits a Caravan’s forebearance.

Laws of Picking: Theft is a matter of great variance among the Caravans since their laws of possession may be different. Generally speaking however, the following guidelines are held by all Caravans:

1. Only the living can have possessions. Therefore, looting the dead is permissible.

2. Your family/Caravan have secondary ownership to your items when you die. A virtuous Scavver may do their best to bring recovered possessions to a dead person’s family.

3. You own something if you pick it up unless it belonged to someone else first - except for Components which belong to anyone that has them.
   

These are the three Laws of Picking among the Scavver Caravans and are respected by all of them. However, Scavvers are not stupid -- they understand that other places’ laws may be different and endeavor to stay within a settlement’s good side for the most part. 

Law Enforcement

The Laws of a Caravan are created by the Pilot, ideally with the Caravan’s counsel and approval. However, the expectation is that it will be enforced by the entire Caravan. The Wagon Watchers can be especially involved in matters of crime or the Pilot’s whim, especially when a specific situation requires violence. 

Punishments and Sanctions: Almost universally, the Scavver Caravans favor the following sanctions to those who violate the laws and mores of their community.

• Toil: The upkeep of a Caravan requires tasks across the spectrum of tolerable and brutal. Examples of the latter include latrine work and dung collection.While most of the latter labors are performed by Fringers, a Pilot can sentence a Scavver to a week, a month or even a year of Toil. Fringers enjoy making such an individual do most of the work for them.

• Flogging: Flashier than Toil but far less useful to a Caravan is Flogging. The pain suffered by this public spectacle is significant but less so than the humiliation to one’s own peers and family. This punishment is inflicted upon Fringers or upon those who directly disobey/disrespect a Caravan’s Pilot.

• Castoff: For egregious offenses, a Pilot may choose to eject an individual from the Caravan. This is usually appealed by one’s family with varying results based on any donations to the Pilot, the influence of the family, and the nature of the offense. In addition, all other Caravans are made aware of a Castoff’s status and actions (though they may or may not take these into account). 

• Exile: This is similar to being Castoff, but far worse as it is an immediate eviction from the Caravan. If this is in the wilderness, it is practically a death sentence. An Exile or Castoff who continues to follow a Caravan is shot by Grackles.

• Execution: An extreme and rare measure is the Execution -- these individuals have become too dangerous to the Caravan. They are cut down and slain by one of the Wagon Watchers or even the Pilot themselves. The leaders of a failed mutiny are usually given this punishment as they are deemed too dangerous to let live. 

Territory

Scavver Caravans are nomadic and claim no territory of their own. They travel primarily through established routes, which either reclaimed roadways or cleared out paths.This usually allows them to travel to towns and settlements for commerce and resupply efforts. 

However, where a Caravan goes  is limited immensely by the fact that they have wagons and similar wheeled vehicles in their convoy. When traveling to the ruins of a city, Scavvers rarely bring their Caravans up close to it, instead employing teams of Pickers to go out and bring back relics and useful scrap. This is not only because such ruins are often infested with monstrosities (the same ones that fed on the humans that were trapped in/remained in the city) but also because the roads into the city are usually destroyed or severely congested. 

When two or more Scavvers raid the same area, they attempt to give each other a wide berth. When a team of Bone-Pickers finds another team working on an area, they go to another as a matter of mutual respect. There are some cases, however, where such respect is not given. In these cases, the Scavvers attack each other or lure horrors into the other Caravans’ camp. This is one of the big causes for feuds between Caravans.  

Scavver Religions and Rites

Scavver Faith

Whether an individual Scavver or even a whole Caravan is religious or not is dependent on their own preferences and upbringing. Some Caravans, such as the Tommys, the Owls and the Rainbirds, worship the Whispers of the Wild. Other Caravans might find succor in the faiths of the other Free Tribes or even the other Archfactions. Most Caravans tend to be unkindled to a particular religion, with individual Scavvers making that personal decision for themselves. 

Most of the Scavver Caravans do not subscribe to any specific faith beyond trusting in themselves and their families. Those who have enkindled piety in their hearts and build shrines to divinities subscribe to the Whispers of the Wild. The Owl Caravan, the Rainbird Caravan, and the Tommy Caravans are examples of Scavvers that follow a Wildling Whisper. 

Scavver Tenets

• Covey and Caravan First: In a world of horrors and hazards, a Scavver is expected to be able to lean on their Caravan in times of trouble. Thus, helping a fellow Cove is often prioritized over strangers and outsiders. Only one’s family and one’s self takes greater precedence over the welfare of the Caravan. Unfortunately, this tenet does not rectify the disparity of wealth within the community, though the gap between Fringers and Covey is not utterly impassable.

• The Laws of Picking: (1) Only the living can have possessions. Therefore, looting the dead is permissible. (2) Your family/Caravan have secondary ownership to your items when you die. A virtuous Scavver may do their best to bring recovered possessions to a dead person’s family. (3) You own something if you pick it up unless it belonged to someone else first - except for Components which belong to anyone that has them.

• The Pilot’s Word: Just as the Caravan is important to each of its members, Scavver society expects its people to follow the edicts of the Caravan’s Pilot. These folk are raised up from their peers for their wisdom and their guidance, as well as their influence. Adherence to these edicts and following these commands may mean the difference between a Caravan’s doom and their survival. 

  This reverence goes both ways of course, a Pilot that consistently abuses their power and refuses to relinquish their office may find themselves in the midst of a mutiny. This is especially true for those Pilots that don’t have control over their Grackles/Wagon-Watchers. 

Life Rites

Birth

A Scavver Caravan is usually on the move, but they stop for the birth of one of their own. Whether Pilot, Cove or Fringer, all newcomers to the Caravan are welcomed with a small feast. More religious communities typically perform a rite or invoke their divine patron.

Depending on the condition of the mother, packing up the camp is performed on the next day or after a few days if the birth was a troubled one. Regardless of their social status, mothers and children are allowed to ride a wagon or a pack animal for the next few weeks. Younger children are always allowed to ride on wagons, so the Caravan is not slowed down on its travel. As soon as a child is able to perform chores, they are tasked with menial tasks to prepare them for Caravan life. 

Adulthood

For the Scavver Caravans, becoming a fully fledged adult is awarded at 17-19 years of age. At this point, the child has accrued enough knowledge and experience to perform the necessary maintenance and gathering that is a daily part of being a Cove. At that point, they are permitted to go on scavenging trips on their own or continue training under one of the Caravan’s craftsfolk. One’s family may celebrate this achievement alongside the Pilot or one of their Proxies. A clergyperson may also be included to commemorate this occasion, if the family has the will and capacity to have such a rite performed.

Marriage

Like many other Scavver rites, their marriages are private and small affairs. These usually involve the close associates and families of the would-be spouses -- the Pilot is invited to officiate or bless the wedding, though his presence is not required. More spiritual families have a clergyperson officiate the ceremony. 

Wealth

The true mark of wealth for a Cove is the creation of one’s own Wagon. The cost of doing so and the upkeep this requires is a major hurdle for those of insufficient standing and wealth. Those who do not have a wagon of their own or a family’s wagon to call their own become Fringers. 

Funeral

For the nomadic Scavvers, their dead are mourned. For many Caravans, the body of the fallen is cremated, their bones buried, and their ashes taken by their family (or hoarded by a Junk-Taker). Some Caravans simply bury the body and take a token to represent the deceased. In all cases, a short, commemorative rite is performed -- the deeds of the fallen are celebrated and their loss is mourned. Typically, the Pilot or the resident Shaman (if any) is responsible for mediating and organizing the ceremony. 

View of the Afterlife

Some Scavvers believe that the world is accursed and they must reincarnate into it over and over. Others believe that they join their ancestors and families in death. More than a few believe that death precedes utter oblivion, a peaceful nothingness without pain. 

Those that believe in the Whispers of the Wild believe that their afterlives are intertwined with that Whisper, especially those that serve a Death Taker. For example, the Owl Caravan has faith that the Nightseer will take their spirits away to a distant haven. On the other hand, the Rainbirds and the Tommys claim that their souls will be joined to their Whispers and give it strength enough to help protect their descendants and families. 

View of Magic

Unless dictated by their beliefs, Scavvers have a very utilitarian view of magic. They will use whatever works well. The Dirtdozers and other technologically focused Caravans are an exception to this and do not have as many resources for magical training as their fellows. Generally speaking, the Scavvers tend to have more Talismongers than any other Tradition, though Animancers are a close second with more spiritual Caravans such as the Owls and the Rainbirds.

Though Necrotheurgy and Xenotheurgy have bad reputations, the Scavvers take to these if they are drawn to them. Provided that the Arcanists and Channelers involved do not go mad with power, the rest of the Caravan treats them normally as their kin. They even lend these spell users their much needed support and healing for when the magic becomes a burden. For these folk, the unity of the Caravan trumps the differences between its people.