Peleg: Skullseeker Clan

The Skullseeker Clan is a nation-tribe of Gremlins on Peleg, whose origin there dates back to the First Colonial Revolution. The founding families of this tribe were Gremlins from Monopolis who survived the successful uprising, and were either stranded on Peleg, abandoned by the Monopolis Corporation, (who had temporarily lost interest in Peleg,) or were themselves rebels with no desire to return to Monopolis. On Peleg, the Skullseeker Clan has many permanent settlements in the area between the Monopolis and Xanadu colonies.

In the Skullseeker Clan's beginnings, they were a break off from the then still-just-forming Dragontooth Clan. The Gremlins felt they were superior to the Ogres, and that it would be foolish to include those Ogres in important decision making. Annoyed by the fact that they could no longer force their will on the Ogres, and not able to shun their old racist ways, they abandoned their Ogre friends to form a new group that would grow into what is now the "Skullseeker Clan."

The native cannibal Draconians saw the isolated Gremlins as easy prey. At first the Gremlins fought back with their sophisticated Monopolis weaponry. However, without the access to advanced Monopolis technology, they were not able to maintain these tools, and slowly, piece by piece, adopted the primitive technology and ways of the native cannibals, all the way down to the actual cannibalism.

Though not always as effective, the Skullseeker Clan's techniques are more complicated than those of the cannibal Draconians. Where the native cannibal may use a composite bow, a Skullseeker may have a crude crossbow based on the same basic mechanism. A Skullseeker Clan's village is likely to be very complex, with sewers and multiple story huts connected by tunnels or rope bridges, usually not near large bodies of water, unlike their native cannibal neighbors.

A basic survival strategy of the Skullseeker Clan has been to avoid direct confrontation with the native cannibals. They always have a lookout for these enemies whenever they are near large bodies of water. Their fighting strategy is often focused on how to lure battle away from water and onto land were they are on more equal terms with the Draconians. However, they also use a strategy of extermination, seizing opportunities to kill all Draconians whenever it is convenient, and they have been known to wipe out entire Draconian villages when left vulnerable. It is common for Draconian populations on Peleg to be considerably lower than usual in Skullseeker Clan territory.

However, the worst threat to a Skullseeker Clan's village is actually another Skullseeker Clan village. Usually, they are able to get along well, but there is often a great lack of trust, and minor disagreements can break into bloody feuds. Though individual members of the Skullseeker Clan are very dependant on one another, the most common cause of death is to be killed (and sometimes eaten,) by another member of the tribe.

Like the Dragontooth Clan, the Skullseeker Clan prefers a large, dual hull boat design. However, the Skullseeker Clan's boats are always sail powered, and usually have multiple masts with a complex system of ropes, ladders and sails. Because of the Gremlin's small size, these boats usually have multiple levels for storage and habitation. The normal Skullseeker Clan boat was not actually built by members of the tribe, but taken from their victims and modified to suit their needs.

The Skullseeker Clan uses preserved heads and skulls of intelligent species as money. The more rare the species is to the Skullseeker Clan member, the more valuable their head is. It is common for tribe members to kill members of other races purely for the enhancement of a personal head collection. It is common for Skullseeker Clan members to use the skin and bones of other intelligent species, including other Gremlins, as materials for crafts and construction.

Also, much to the dismay of the Blackbird Clan, the Skullseeker Clan constantly delves into the darkest of magic, often toying with undead powers. Philosophically, the Skullseeker Clan has gone in a different direction than the native cannibals, and almost everything they do is to "recieve power" from this piece of food or that animal spirit. To the Skullseeker Clan, undead magic is just another opportunity for tinkering and weapon innovation. Undead techology innovation gone astray has wiped out many a Skullseeker Clan village over the years. However, undead technology has sometimes proved to be very effective against their native cannibal enemies.

The basic hand to hand weapon of this tribe is the pole arm or "Lance." It is usually somewhat complex, with hand guards and multiple points, blades, and/or serrated edges. They often engage in a stick fighting that is similar to the Dragontooth Clan's "Lancing," except that the sticks are not Oars, they do not use saftey equipment, and the fight is won only by forcing the opponent into submission. The most common projectile weapon is the crude crossbow, though they also have blowguns, slings, and complex varieties of small catapults and other such contraptions.

This lifestyle provides tribe members with a wide variety of occupations. Witch Doctors specialize in herbal medicine, poisons, and slight of hand. Necromancers specialize in undead techniques, research and sciences. Shadow Hunters specialize in ambushing and assassination at night. Scouts specialize in detecting enemy preparations for attack, discover opportunities to fulfill genocidal traditions, and booby trap important areas near enemy settlements. Chiefs negotiate disagreements and try to keep casualties to a minimum. Inventors improve quality of life unexpectedly, on an hourly basis, and are on the constant quest for innovative killing power. Traders keep communication lines open throughout the Skullseeker Clan, and provide opportunities to get economic advantage over neighbors. Executioners specialize in killing unarmed opponents and prisoners, so that large scale assaults can proceed more effeciently, and so that large numbers of warriors are not needed to destroy enemy support structure. Truth Seekers extract truth from prisoners by way of torture. Gardeners grow herbs, for poisons and recreational self-medication.

Traditionally, the Skullseeker Clan has been extremely intolerant of those who were not Gremlins. This is still true for all villages that still consider themselves to be of the Skullseeker Clan bloodline.