Corsair Primer — “Best thieves on the open routes, worst surprise in the boarding lanes.”
Alignment: Chaotic Good (profit-motivated, community-bound)
Core Trade: Ship theft → resale / strip-sale (prefer capture over slaughter)
Known For: Three-sloop boarding formation that moves like a floating fortress wall.
The Shieldwheel Corsairs are a young, elite corsair pack (most 20–25) who fight like old-war veterans: shield, sword, and formation discipline so tight it looks unnatural until you realize their lives depend on it. They don’t raid to stack trophies—they raid to feed and protect their home, a Viking-style holdfast where families, craftsmen, and noncombatants live under their banner.
They call themselves “corsairs” because they operate with rules:
Steal ships, not villages.
Leave crews alive when the job allows.
Kill only when the other side forces it.
Never sell a captured ship to slavers. (This one’s carved into their hall gate.)
Home: Skjoldheim Hold — a cliffside longhall-citadel built into black stone above stormwater coves.
Ship sheds cut into the rock.
Ropewalks, sail-lofts, and a forge yard.
A protected “low village” for families and dock-workers.
A bell system for whale-storms and incoming fleets.
They go out because the Hold is a promise: “No one under our roof pays with blood.”
So they pay with stolen hulls instead.
They run three weapon-light sloops designed for theft, not naval duels. No cannon broadsides—just speed, control, and boarding.
Class: Shieldwheel Sloops
Each sloop carries six crew (18 total across the triad), but only the command cadre is widely recorded.
Signature Feature — Windwheel Outriggers:
Each sloop has two long side spars, each ending in a windmill-style wheel (one per side), set slightly wider than the hull like outriggers. The wheels don’t “row”—they bite air and sea-spray, generating sideways control and stability at stupid angles.
What this gives them:
Knife-edge approaches: sliding in sideways without losing speed.
Boarding stability: the ship doesn’t roll when the shieldwall surges off the rail.
Impact buffering: the outriggers can catch glancing collisions and keep the hull from snapping.
Real Name: The Tri-Skjaldbastion
(Common slang: “The Shieldwheel Wall.”)
Purpose: Close distance under fire, attach, board, and clear the deck in controlled “rooms” like a moving siege.
How it works (simple):
Center sloop approaches as the “lock.”
Two flank sloops slide slightly ahead and outward—forming a moving V-bulwark.
Outriggers extend; wheels spin; the formation becomes a wind-braced barricade.
Archers fire from behind the wall while shields eat the return fire.
Grapnels bite. Boarding planks slam. Shieldwall crosses first.
Why it’s nasty:
Most crews shoot at a ship. These corsairs make you shoot at a formation—and formations don’t panic.
In the hands of these idiots, the sloops fight like creatures with instincts:
Bulwark Screen: outriggers angle and wheels flare, throwing spray and air-wash that spoils cannon aim and forces wide shots.
Hook-Lock Surge: center sloop throws a triple-hook set; flank sloops pull outward—stretching the target’s rail and cracking weak rigging.
Deck Denial Drift: wheels bite a crosswind and slide the whole formation sideways, keeping the shieldwall aligned while the enemy loses footing.
Board-Cut Pivot: a rapid spin around a hooked point—used to peel escort boats away or slam a target’s stern into bad current.
They fight like this is a job—because it is.
Shieldwall Roles:
Front shields: tower/round shields, overlap tight, eyes forward.
Second line: swords and hook-blades to pull ankles, wrists, weapons.
Archers: shoot over the wall and past it—never into it.
Finish rule: if the crew yields, the Corsairs bind, strip weapons, and lock them below. If the crew keeps fighting, the Corsairs break knees and hands first—then decide if killing is necessary.
Their reputation comes from this:
They can clear a deck without turning it into a massacre.
And when they do massacre—everyone knows the other side forced it.
These six run the triad. The rest of the crew are shield-brothers, archers, riggers, and wheel-tenders sworn to the Hold.
Role: Fleet Captain / Center Sloop Commander
Look: broad-shouldered, storm-tan skin, braided ash-blond hair, a scar that splits one eyebrow; always wears a half-cloak pinned by a ship-nail.
Personality: warm laugh, ruthless focus. Treats theft like math and mercy like law.
Weapon: short sword + hooked seax, shield painted with a cracked sun.
Note: Eirik hates pointless killing—but hates threats to his civilians more.
Role: Captain’s First / Boarding Tempo
Look: lean, whip-fast, black hair tied high; forearms wrapped in rope scar-lines from wheel work.
Personality: cheerful until steel comes out—then silent.
Weapon: swordbreaker dagger + narrow blade; carries the “first plank” chain.
Special: calls cadence in battle like a work song—keeps the wall moving as one body.
Role: Port Flank Commander
Look: huge, dark-bearded, missing a front tooth; grin like a dock brawler.
Personality: reckless humor, disciplined hands. Loves hard turns and harder landings.
Weapon: heavy round shield + arming sword; shoulder-checks people off decks.
Special: best “wheel-reader” alive—can feel crosswind changes through the deck.
Role: Port Archer Lead / Shot Caller
Look: pale eyes, freckled face, hair shaved on one side; quiver of black-fletched arrows.
Personality: polite, terrifyingly calm.
Weapon: longbow + short blade; shoots for hands, knees, and throats only when forced.
Special: can thread arrows through shield gaps without ever hitting a friendly.
Role: Starboard Flank Commander
Look: copper-brown skin, close-cropped hair, chainmail collar under a sailor shirt; tattoos of names on his knuckles.
Personality: protective, stern, “older brother” energy; takes surrender seriously.
Weapon: sword + tall shield; carries spare bindings for prisoners.
Special: negotiator mid-fight—he’s the one who shouts terms and actually honors them.
Role: Starboard Rigger / Grapnel Specialist
Look: small, fast, wicked smile; eyes always moving; hands full of hook scars.
Personality: playful thief brain, loyal to the wall.
Weapon: twin hook-knives + light shield.
Special: can “stitch” two ships together with grapnels so clean it looks planned.
They’re called the best corsairs right now because they do three things most pirates can’t:
Approach under fire without breaking shape.
Win decks with formation instead of magic.
Leave with the ship intact enough to sell.
Warning whispered on the trade lanes:
“If you see three small sails moving like one shadow—strike colors early.
If you wait until the shields are on your rail, you’ve already lost the ship.”
Tri-Skjaldbastion Craft Registry — Skjoldheim Hold
Each sloop is lean, weapon-light, and built around the Windwheel Outriggers: two long side spars ending in spray-bitten windwheels that can lock at angles for sideways slides, stability on impact, and “wall-true” boarding.
Role: The Lock. Grapnels first, planks first, takes the target’s “center of decision.”
Look:
Hull: dark pine-black, tar-glossed, with a single pale stripe down the spine like a scar.
Prow: a blunt, squared “ram nose” (not a weapon—just built to survive contact).
Deck: unusually open, cleared for shieldwall staging.
Windwheels: heavier, iron-braced hubs—made to take the most stress.
Crew Pair from the Six:
Captain Eirik “Red Wake” Haldorsen (Fleet Captain)
First Mate Svala “Nailsong” Kett (Tempo / first plank)
Ship Habit / Quirk: when Hearthbiter hooks, it doesn’t drift—it clamps like a jaw. Old crews swear the hull “leans in” when it smells a larger ship’s wake.
Role: The Spoiler. Breaks enemy aim, forces wide shots, keeps the wall’s left edge “sealed.”
Look:
Hull: sea-grey with chalk-white rune marks for wind-reading and wheel angles.
Outriggers: slightly longer than the other two; windwheels have thin, fast blades that whine when they bite air.
Rig: higher, tighter sail plan—built for sudden lateral slides and aggressive pivots.
Crew Pair from the Six:
Vice-Captain Bjorn “Windjaw” Skardi (Port Commander)
First Mate Tova “Glassarrow” Renn (Port Archer Lead)
Ship Habit / Quirk: Skyshear “sings” in crosswind—those wheel blades make a high, steady whistle. Veterans say if you hear that whistle close, you’re already boarded.
Role: The Binder. Prisoners, ropework, and control—keeps the right edge disciplined and the target ship usable.
Look:
Hull: deep green stain, copper rivetwork along the rail like a stitched seam.
Deck fittings: extra cleats, bind-points, and ringbolts—made to tie ships together fast.
Windwheels: reinforced spokes for “hook-lock” pulls; less speed-whine, more torque.
Crew Pair from the Six:
Vice-Captain Rurik “Oath-Iron” Varr (Starboard Commander)
First Mate Mila “Crowsmile” Dain (Grapnel / rigging specialist)
Ship Habit / Quirk: Oathbound Wake is the one crews remember after—because it’s where you wake up bound, alive, and furious… while your ship sails away under a new flag.
When the Tri-Skjaldbastion forms up:
Hearthbiter stays dead center and hooks first.
Skyshear rides slightly forward-left and spoils aim / pushes spray.
Oathbound Wake rides slightly forward-right and binds / pulls / stitches.