Roaring Wastes

The Roaring Wastes are not ruled; they are endured. Every warrior in the Wastes presents a walking biography on their armor and weapons — past fights, scavenging victories, things they have survived. There is no uniform style or shared banner. Identity in the Wastes is individual and literal, displayed for anyone to read who knows how to look. Fractured bands, ambitious war-leaders, scavengers, and alienated loners who fit nowhere else in the world collect here. The land — a near-desert of strong constant winds, rocky outcrops, and sparse tough vegetation — does not encourage any other arrangement.

Way of Life

Society within the Wastes is intensely competitive and individualistic. Alliances are notoriously short-lived; rivalries are long and bloody. Leadership is taken by strength and cunning and lasts only as long as a leader can defend their claim. Scavenging, raiding, and competing for scarce resources define daily life. Survival is paramount and adaptability is the highest virtue.

Military Doctrine

The people of the Roaring Wastes are exceptional skirmishers and opportunistic fighters. They lack the discipline of the Old Empire or the coordinated Swarm tactics of the Lanshir Savanna. Instead, they excel at brutal individualism — hit-and-run tactics, ambushes, and maximizing the use of salvaged and makeshift weaponry. Their military strength is chaos and unpredictability. Organized militaries consistently underestimate how costly the Wastes is to invade and how little there is to gain from it.

Neighbors and Enemies

The Roaring Wastes occupy the arid western edge of Thrapsus:

• Humans (Old Empire): To the South-East. The chaotic Wastes factions constantly skirmish with Imperial garrisons, viewing the Empire’s structured rules as weakness to be exploited.
• Humans (Lanshir Savanna): To the South. Conflict over grazing lands and resources, with Wastes factions engaging in hit-and-run tactics against Sitan settlements.
• Grubvurmkind (Buried Reach): To the North-West. Human factions raid and clash with the elusive Grubvurmkind for territory and resources along the tropical border.
• Other Races: Due to their location and extreme terrain difficulty, the Wastes have little to no contact with most other races — Dwarves, Elves, or reptilian factions.

Notable Settlements and Points of Interest

• Splitjaw Rise (Capital): A fortified plateau serving as the closest thing the Wastes have to a capital. The strongest factions currently coexist here without killing each other — mostly by managing a fragile tension.
• Rusthaven Spur: A major salvage settlement built entirely from the wreckage and bones of previous civilizations and failed caravans. Weapons trade more frequently and hold more value here than food.
• Cinderhook Flats: A recognized neutral zone and dueling ground where major disputes between war-leaders are settled through single combat — or often violently escalate into full-blown skirmishes.
• Howlscar Camp: A constantly relocating stronghold that follows storms and migratory beasts across the Wastes. The most direct embodiment of the Wastes’ nomadic nature.
• The Bone Orchard: A desolate valley littered with the sun-bleached skeletons of ancient, colossal beasts. Scavengers pick through the bones for material. The place is rumored to lure the weak-willed to their doom.
• The Maws of the Wastes: Immense wind-carved caves serving as temporary refuge during the worst of the perpetual storms. Rival gangs frequently fight brutal close-quarters battles for control of the caves when the weather turns lethal.
• The Sunken Convoy: The wreckage of an ancient trade convoy swallowed by shifting sands generations ago. It occasionally surfaces during extreme weather events, triggering chaotic gold rushes and fierce territorial conflicts among local scavengers.