Duskreef - Military

Duskreef's military might rests almost entirely with its Navy. They don't field a cohesive ground force to speak of, warm bodies with weapons are about as close as they can get. Their air force is non-existent, preferring to focus on air defense options aboard their navy vessels.

Ground Forces: 30,000-60,000, but you'll never get them all in the same place at once, or pointed in the same direction. The largest single pirate ground forces ever 'assembled' was a lucrative attack on a Sylvaran village outside The Druid's Bay. Around 5,000 pirate skirmishers landed and attempted to ransack and enslave the village, falsely believing Slyvara's magical defenders were all busy elsewhere. After about 1,000 men died to unknown magical effects, the rest fled. It is used a example of why Duskreef doesn't fight land battles.

Air Forces: Duskreef occasionally acquires the odd Zephyrian air ship in raids or thefts, however lacking any real understanding of the ships, the pirates often kill themselves trying to pilot them back to Duskreef.

Navy: 800 Small Vessels, 200 Medium Vessels, 20 Large Vessels. Duskreef's Navy ships are fiercely independent, but can be partially assembled with the promise of gold, loot, or the Pirate Kings orders (or at least the threat of executions if those orders are ignored).

Small Vessels (3-20 Crew)

  1. Ghostfin Class Skiff
    A nimble, single-masted sloop good at silent gliding over waves, crewed by 5-10 for hit-and-run relic grabs from shallow wrecks. Its low profile and retractable oars allow it to slip into hidden coves undetected, perfect for ambushing lone merchant boats.

  2. Fanghook Class Cutter
    A razor-sharp, oar-driven longboat (8-15 crew) with boarding grapples shaped like shark fangs, manned by mixed-race cutthroats for boarding parties against rival pirates. Lightweight and fast under sail or paddle, it excels at swarming larger prey in chaotic harbors, towing away loot while sowing chaos.

  3. Relic Class Dart
    A compact, submersible-inspired dinghy (3-8 crew) with watertight hulls and bubble wards from scavenged Veilbreak tech, usually operated by triton specialists for diving ops. It darts underwater to pilfer ruins, surfacing only to evade sea monsters or sell hauls in black markets, embodying Duskreef's deadly relic-hunting independence.

Medium Vessels (20-50 Crew)

  1. Betrayer Class Brig
    A swift, two-masted brigantine (25-40 crew) with modular decks and hidden smuggling compartments. It thrives on fragile alliances for fleet raids, its standard cannon complement is dangerous, especially in larger groups.

  2. Wreckreaver Class Schooner
    A rugged schooner (30-45 crew) built from salvaged shipwrecks with reinforced coral plating, packed with divers and climbers for scavenging ops. Its multiple booms allow it to rake enemy sails with grapeshot while lowering boats for underwater relic hauls, turning every voyage into a opportunistic feeding frenzy on sunken treasures.

  3. Shadowcat Class Galleass
    A low-freeboard galleass (20-50 crew) blending oars and lateen sails for erratic maneuvering, specializing in night raids. Camouflaged with illusion-inked sails from Veilbreak scraps, it strikes from darkness, boarding with cunning feints before vanishing, true to Duskreef's fleeting loyalties.

Large Vessels (100-200 Crew)

  1. Gambit Class Galleon
    A hulking galleon (120-160 crew) serving primarily as flagships under the Pirate King, with sprawling gun decks and hidden armories. Laden with catapults firing chained grapples, and broadsides filled with cannons, it anchors massive raids, its transient crews of every race vying for status aboard ship.

  2. Tidewrack Class Leviathan
    An immense junk-rigged behemoth (150-200 crew) pieced from countless wrecks, crewed by Duskreef's hardest independents for fleet command from Tidewrack's ports. Its towering forecastle launches swarms of small craft for relic dives or slave grabs, while broadsides of scavenged cannons enforce its place on the seas, ruling the waves through sheer chaotic volume.