Crawler gang

This article is about the factions based in Bassuras. For vehicular automatons common to the Hellcatch Valley, see Crawler.

Crawler gangs
Official art of a massive crawler holding gang members, by Clara.
Basic Information
Type	Gang
Base	Bassuras, Hellcatch Valley
Leaders	Various
Goals	Survival
Membership
Notable members	Paragon's Call Gajakhandas All-Minds-Burn Fist of the Ruiner
Relationships
Allegiances	None
Rivals	Each other

Crawler gangs are the various factions of the Hellcatch Valley of Bassuras.

Description

Crawlers refers both to the members of the Crawler gangs and to the constructs that provide them transportation. Although the Valley is nominally governed by the Bassuras Republic, actual control is by the roving factions that are referred to as Crawler gangs. Because there is no true centralized law, local law is held by whoever is currently in power in that place. Where there is a contest between rival gangs, there is either a violent resolution or a tense agreement to go their own separate ways.

The gangs seem to be regarded by those outside them as something like pirates. Caravans crossing the Valley use colored flags and banners as a warning against the various Crawler gangs. When Lord Eshteross's skyship the Silver Sun dropped off Bells Hells in Bassuras, it quickly took off when they spotted the tell-tale dust trails of approaching crawlers.

Although in theory the Crawler gangs have certain territories within the city, in practice there is more of a hierarchy, with the Gajakhandas in charge. Most of the city's unspoken laws deal with Crawler gang infighting punishable by the Gajakhandas or the union of Crawler gangs within the city limits, with everything else being a free-for-all.

The Deathwish Run

Fan art of the Deathwish Run, by Shara Maestache.

A competition called the "Deathwish" or "The Run" takes place between the various Crawler gangs once every couple of weeks or months in order to settle disputes between them through sport in lieu of going to war.

The race has three main parts. It starts and ends near the Bone Tree in The Skids of Bassuras where it goes through the city itself. At the edge of the city, the route winds down a switchback road into the ravine, and into a cave network holding dangerous creatures before emerging on the other side. It then switchbacks back up the mesa side in what's known as The Climb to come along the top of the Carmine Curtain and back through The Skids to its beginning point. Uninterrupted, the race would take about 15 to 20 minutes.

Each crawler holds two passengers: the driver and a supporter. Before the race some competitors set up "surprises" along the route to obstruct their opponents. Once a Run is set, other gangs virtually always join in, and the average number of competitors runs between four and twelve.

“

The Deathwish is usually used as a means of either putting to rest conflict between the different factions, or it's used as an initiation rite for different factions, or it's used as a means of getting rid of individuals that they don't want to have to officially get rid of, like blood relatives of higher ups that don't want to deal with the fallout of aggressively firing them. They can just watch them kill themselves, essentially, in The Run. It's a little rough.

”

– 

Imahara Joe explaining The Run.

[!h]

Known Crawler gangs

• Paragon's Call - Well-established and with a fortress built in the city of Bassuras, recently they have been seeking legitimacy and jobs as far away as Jrusar.
• Gajakhandas - As the law enforcers in Bassuras, members of the Gajakhandas came to investigate Bells Hells' skyship when the party first arrived. When the Gajakhandas were satisfied with their credentials, the party was told they were under their protection.
• All-Minds-Burn - The gang has a reputation as taking drugs to remain constantly high. Imogen Temult discovered that they were a hive-mind that was able to force her away when she tried to read their thoughts.
• Fists of the Ruiner - Members of this gang bear red tear-like marks under their eyes as a sign of rank, an echo of the bleeding eye symbol of Gruumsh, the Ruiner.

Trivia

• Matthew Mercer described the gangs as having "very much a Mad Max vibe in places here in the valley".

References

Art: