Raiders

Raiders of New Vance

Where Raiders Came From

Raiders did not start as one group. They came from people who were shut out when New Vance sealed itself. Some were criminals and local strongmen who lost their influence when governments collapsed. Others were workers, refugees, and deserters who were turned away once the walls went up and the Perimeter Fires were lit.

When the city’s factions formed, many survivors tried to join them. Some were accepted. Many were not. Those who were rejected, or who refused strict rules, survived by attacking others. They stole from convoys, hit weak settlements, and stripped abandoned areas. Over time, everyone started calling them Raiders.

What Raiders Are

Raiders do not belong to any faction. They do not swear lasting loyalty. They do not plan for the future. Most care only about their next theft and their next chance to feel in control. They take what they can from people weaker than them.

They move fast and stay unstable. They do not build towns. They do not protect land. They take, burn, and move on.

Vehicles and Survival

Raiders rely on vehicles to survive. Trucks, bikes, and armored vans keep them alive. Many can fix an engine faster than they can read. Fuel matters more than food. When fuel runs low, they steal. When food runs short, they raid.

A raider gang without vehicles does not last long. Groups on foot are easy targets for rivals, Gear Rats, or the Perimeter Watch.

Leadership and Power

There is no Raider king. There is no council. There is no shared command. Raider gangs rise and fall constantly.

A leader stays in power only while they scare others and keep loot flowing. If they fail, they are killed, replaced, or abandoned. Most leaders do not last long.

Raider Camp Zone

The Zone

Raiders gather in a stretch of land outside New Vance’s outer defenses. This area is known as the Raiders Camp Zone. It is not one camp. It is a broken band of highways, motels, rest stops, and scrap fields.

The old highway ring around the city runs through the zone. Wrecks block lanes. Overpasses hang broken. Some ramps drop into open air. Raiders know which roads still work and which ones kill careless drivers. They use this knowledge to ambush convoys.

Camps

Camps are built from scrap. Some form inside old motels, where rooms become storage and sleeping dens. Others grow around rest stops, where trucks form walls and tarps fill the gaps. Some places still have working signs powered by unstable generators. Others are dark and silent.

Traps fill the space between camps. Mines, tripwires, and pressure plates are common. Some are new. Some are old and forgotten. Raiders sometimes die to traps their own people set years ago.

The Perimeter Watch rarely pushes deep into this zone. When they do, they strike fast and leave.

Known Raider Sites

The Toxic Digs
Old fuel yards and chemical dumps. Raiders refine stolen fuel here. The air burns the lungs. Many workers die young.

The Devil’s Den
A ruined roadside mall used as a black market. Raiders sell stolen gear, drugs, captives, and tech. Smugglers and brokers pass through often.

The Scorch Pit
A burned stadium used for punishments and displays of power. Fire and explosives are common.

The Bone Yard
A massive scrapyard filled with wrecked vehicles. Stacked cars form walls and sniper nests. Gangs fight here constantly.

Raider Life and Culture

Raider life is short and unstable. There is no safety. Most raiders lost their families during the Collapse. Others were born in camps and never lived anywhere else.

Food comes from stolen shipments and scavenged stores. Water is taken from stolen lines or bought from unsafe sources. Fuel is guarded harder than anything else. Gangs kill over it without hesitation.

Gangs form around vehicles, strong leaders, or profitable camps. Some are family groups. Others are loose crews formed after successful raids. Leaders often use nicknames. These names spread faster than real ones.

Common Rules

• Anyone who joins a raid expects a share.

• Leaders who hoard loot do not last.

• Betrayal during a raid often ends in death, exile, or slavery.

• Gangs that attack other raiders too often invite retaliation.

Drugs and Infection

Drug use is common. Many raiders stay numb or high to manage fear and stress. This makes them unpredictable in fights and shortens their lives.

Infection is always a threat. Some camps keep infected captives in cages to use as weapons. Others kill infected members as soon as symptoms appear. No gang has the means to treat the disease.

Not All Raiders Are the Same

Some raiders are former soldiers with nowhere else to go. Some are desperate people who fell in with the wrong group. A few avoid harming children or refugees, but these beliefs rarely last. Life in the zone grinds most ideals down.

Raider Warlords

Most raider leaders die quickly. Only a few survive long enough to control territory.

Furnace Faraday
Controls much of the Toxic Digs. A former engineer. Runs fuel refineries and fire teams. Sells fuel to anyone who pays.

Glitch
Controls the Devil’s Den. Uses stolen data and favors to hold power. Knows who owes what and uses that knowledge to stay alive.

Inferno Iris
Rules the Scorch Pit. Uses fear, fire, and public punishment to maintain control. Her crew favors loud, destructive attacks.

Ironclad Krell
Leads a disciplined gang near city defenses. Drills his people and targets Perimeter Watch posts and supply lines.

Skullbreaker Kael
Controls the Bone Yard. Turned scrap into walls, traps, and sniper nests. Fights Gear Rats often over salvage.

Smaller leaders roam the outskirts. They avoid major fights and hit soft targets. None of them speak for all Raiders.

Alliances change often. Power lasts only as long as violence supports it.

Raiders and the City

Raiders attack convoys, test weak defenses, and keep pressure on the city’s outer ring. They cause chaos and force the factions to stay alert.

They do not build. They do not protect. They break things and move on.

That is their role in New Vance.