Khenan Raiders (Desertborne Humans)

Overview

The @Khenan Raiders are a band of outcasts and renegades, forged from those whom the desert tribes would no longer tolerate. Exiles, criminals, deserters, and broken souls gather under the banner of the Khenan, bound by their rejection of the tribes that cast them out. In the eyes of most desertfolk, they are no better than vultures—but to the Raiders, survival is vengeance, and vengeance is survival.

Origins

No single tribe birthed the @Khenan Raiders. Instead, they emerged from the fragments of many. A murderer spared from execution, a cowardly soldier who abandoned his post, a thief caught too many times—each had nowhere else to go. These misfits found one another in the shifting dunes, and over time, their gatherings grew into warbands. What began as desperate survival became a way of life: to take, to raid, to plunder, and to burn the ties that once bound them.

Their name, Khenan, is said to come from an ancient word for “Ashborn” — those who rise only to consume and destroy

Culture & Values

The @Khenan Raiders live without honor, but not without rules. Their creed is simple: the strong lead, the weak follow, and the desert takes the rest. Loyalty lasts only as long as a warband prospers. Leadership is decided by challenge—raiders may slay their own captains if they grow weak or fail.

Yet, there is one bond the Raiders share: hatred of the tribes. Each carries the scars of rejection, whether real or imagined. Their raids are not just about plunder—they are acts of revenge. A caravan stripped bare, a settlement torched, a captured warrior slain—all are messages carved into the sands: we will not be forgotten.

Tactics & Hideouts

The @Khenan Raiders move like shadows. Their hideouts are scattered across the desert—caves, abandoned ruins, forgotten canyons—constantly shifting so no tribe may root them out.

They strike with speed, favoring swift raids under cover of sandstorms or moonless nights. They steal supplies, livestock, and valuables, then vanish before reinforcements can arrive. They leave little behind but blood, ash, and fear.

Some @Khenan Raiders grow bold enough to linger in captured places for weeks, turning them into temporary bases of terror before abandoning them once their presence draws too much attention.

Relations of the @Khenan Raiders @Desertborne Human

Relations with @Shishan Tribe @Desertborne Human

The @Shishan Tribe loathe the @Khenan Raiders , whose attacks disrupt trade routes and threaten caravans. Yet, in dark corners of the desert, whispers persist that some minor @Shishan Tribe chiefs secretly employ @Khenan Raiders to sabotage rivals. Publicly, relations are hostile; privately, they sometimes blur into uneasy bargains. @Khenan Raiders attacks them at any chance.

Relations with Poachers @Grassborne

The @Khenan Raiders maintain a pragmatic partnership with Poachers. They guide them through hidden routes in exchange for coin, stolen weapons, or shares of rare remains. Poachers, in turn, rely on the @Khenan Raiders ’ knowledge of the desert’s shadows, though both sides are quick to betray one another if profit demands it. @Khenan Raiders despise the @Grassborne but collaborate with desdain, although they don't hesitate to kill them if profitable.

Relations with @Zhainin Tribe @Desertborne Human

The @Zhainin Tribe despise the Raiders as cowards and dishonorable scavengers. The @Khenan Raiders , in turn, relish targeting @Zhainin Tribe patrols, mocking their obsession with preserving life and balance, by ambushing them from shadows and leaving their corpses as desert warnings. @Khenan Raiders attacks them at any chance.

Relations with @Ashken Tribe @Desertborne Human

The @Ashken Tribe view the Raiders as vermin and execute them without hesitation. The @Khenan Raiders , covet @Ashken Tribe wealth and resources, making them tempting targets for daring raids. @Khenan Raiders attacks them at any chance.

Relations with @Ruyen Tribe @Desertborne Human

Raiders see the @Ruyen Tribe as soft targets. And some of the hidden bases of the @Khenan Raiders are near the @Endless Beach where @Ruyen Tribe live. Thats why raids and skirmishes are usual, although the @Ruyen Tribe are not the main objective of the @Khenan Raiders , as they are the least wealthy tribe. @Khenan Raiders attacks them at any chance.

Relations with @Tallesdin Tribe @Sand Elf

The @Sand Elf of @Tallesdin Tribe regard the @Khenan Raiders with silent hatred. @Khenan Raiders who stumble into their lands vanish, never returning to tell what fate befell them. Among the @Khenan Raiders , stories circulate of ghost-eyed elves who curse with nightmares and madness. @Khenan Raiders attacks them at any chance.

Relations with @Indaks Tribe @Dune Dwarf

The @Indaks Tribe despise the @Khenan Raiders for stealing dwarven wares and desecrating trade routes. The @Khenan Raiders see them as rich prey. And the demand for their artifacts is high among @Grassborne merchants, so @Khenan Raiders usually target the @Indaks Tribe . @Khenan Raiders attacks them at any chance.

Relations with @Qarroshy Tribe @Desertborne Human

The @Qarroshy Tribe despise the @Khenan Raiders as dishonorable parasites who strike from shadows instead of facing foes openly. The @Khenan Raiders , thrive on harassing @Qarroshy Tribe patrols and stealing from their supply trains, mocking their so-called honor. @Khenan Raiders attacks them at any chance.

Relations with @Karkrei Tribe @Desertborne Human

The @Karkrei Tribe execute @Khenan Raiders on sight, viewing them as spiritual blights and desecrators of the dead. The @Khenan Raiders , in turn, find amusement in provoking them, desecrating bones and mocking their rituals when possible. @Khenan Raiders attacks them at any chance.

Relations with @Khazk Horde @Sun-Scorched Orc

A wary kinship exists between the @Khenan Raiders and the @Khazk Horde , forged by shared exile and hatred of the tribes. @Khenan Raiders sometimes serve as mercenaries for @Khazk Horde warbands, though trust remains thin. Alliances last only until one side feels cheated. @Khenan Raiders try to use the @Khazk Horde , and treats them with limited disdain.

Relations with @Scorvian @Scorvian Queendom

The @Khenan Raiders fear the @Scorvian and avoid provoking them. Tales of entire warbands swallowed by the @Scorpion Hills keep them from straying too close. Even the most reckless captains warn their men not to tempt the wrath of the @Scorvian Queendom . @Khenan Raiders feel terror to the @Scorvians.

Relations with @Sandspring Lizardfolk Village @Sszarath Sandscale Dominion

The @Sandspring Lizardfolk Village view the @Khenan Raiders as thieves and pests. The @Khenan Raiders , for their part, avoid large clashes with the @Sszarath Sandscale Dominion , though they occasionally strike isolated hunting bands or steal from border settlements. @Khenan Raiders attacks them at any profitable chance they see as secure enough.

Relations with @Grassborne @Green Republic

The @Khenan Raiders maintain their strongest external ties with smugglers from the @Green Republic . Through them, they fence stolen goods, acquire weapons, and keep a thin lifeline of survival. These relations are transactional and secretive, never based on trust.

Relations with @Brackish Consortium

Althought some @Grassborne merchants that the @Khenan Raiders have deals pertain to it, the @Khenan Raiders know nothing of the @Brackish Consortium existence.

Appearance & Gear

The @Khenan Raiders wear whatever they can steal: mismatched armor, scavenged weapons, desert rags dyed to blend with sand and shadow. Many Raiders cover their faces with scarves or bone masks, both to hide their identities and to mock the tribes that cast them out. Their weapons are rarely elegant but always practical—short bows, spears, scavenged blades, and cruelly barbed daggers.

A drawing of a bloody dagger is their emblem, and they always visibly wear it and have tatoos with it.

Leadership

The @Khenan Raiders are not united under a single leader. Instead, they are divided into loosely connected warbands, each led by a ruthless captain. The most feared of these captains are whispered of across the desert, their names spoken in curses or warnings. The largest gatherings of Raiders occur only rarely, when multiple bands unite under a charismatic warlord to launch grand raids—events that can change the balance of power in the desert for years. One of the most infamous bandid leaders is @Vorlag 'The Butcher'

Reputation

Among desertfolk, the @Khenan Raiders are more than bandits—they are bogeymen, invoked to scare children into obedience. Caravans pray to the sands that no bloody dagger-bannered riders descend upon them. Yet for all their savagery, the Khenan remain an unavoidable truth of the desert: the forgotten will always find a way to be remembered.

Resources, Water sources and Survival

Water:
The @Khenan Raiders survive by briefly visiting scattered oases across the desert, never staying long enough to be caught. They also maintain secret water caches in hidden caves and ravines, known only to their band.

Primary Resources:
For food, they rely on small-scale hunting of desert creatures, but their true livelihood comes from raiding and theft, striking caravans and tribes to seize supplies.

Trade & Smuggling:
Though shunned by most, the @Khenan Raiderskeep a lifeline through smuggling and illicit trade with unscrupulous merchants and poachers of the Green Republic, exchanging stolen goods for weapons, information, and survival tools.