The Brokkr are a subfaction of the Forge Fathers
About
Hot tempered and viewed as coarse by their Forge Father brethren, Brokkrs are nonetheless as capable with a weapon as with a tool or negotiation. Generally, they prefer to ‘get stuck in’ up close with small arms, but occasionally they’ll pick up a big gun, too.
Brokkrs are wild and unmanagable by Forge Father standards, and their Chiefs are no different from the rest. Exuberant and loud , these fiery individuals match their tempers to their skills in battle.
The Brokkrs arrive to strip whatever profit they can from the planet. They’re armed to the teeth, lest they run into any problems they can’t talk their way out of. Once the Brokkrs have established the best places to exploit, they call in the heavy support to help them get it out and get clear.
Brokkrs occupy a unique strata all their own within Forge Father society. Descendants of a Clan that strayed too far from the true path, they are now scattered throughout the Star Realm, each hold having a small population of Brokkrs to call its own.
Brokkrs are very different from the rest of their brethren. Forge Fathers are generally given to be taciturn and gruff, where Brokkrs are talkative and possessed of a sense of humour, albeit a grim one. Forge Fathers will tend to take the slow path, ensuring that every single element is just so, before proceeding onwards – this being why they are so renowned as artisans and craftsmen. Brokkrs are less concerned with perfection – as long as the job is done, they are happy. This should not be confused with sloppiness – indeed, what to a Forge father would be considered rushed would still by human standards be a work of exacting perfection.
They are also more given to emotion than the rest of their kin, and it is perhaps this more than anything else that sets them apart. Forge Fathers in general are cold, calculating and ruthless. They have glacial patience, and a strong hold on what they view as their ‘baser’ emotions – all save their lust for wealth. Brokkrs are very different. Quick to anger and quick to laugh, they are known for their fiery and somewhat unpredictable temperament. It is that temperament most of all that prevents them from achieving the heights of craftsmanship of their fellows. One must temper the fire that resides within, honing it to produce the strongest and best craft in the same way that one must focus the furnace flame to craft the finest blade.
Their remit is that of merchants and scrap dealers. They spread throughout the galaxy, harvesting raw materials wherever they find them, and gathering data on the GCPS and other alien powers in the process. The Star Realm in truth has little use for the trinkets that Brokkr fleets mostly retrieve, but the information is far more valuable. Though not expansionist by nature, the Forge Fathers recognise the inherent threat in the voracity of humanity’s appetite for conquest. The GCPS spreads like a virus, and its need for raw materials drives it ever onwards. Planets claimed by its corporations are then outside the reach of the Star Realm, including any artefacts or valuable minerals and ores that may be deposited there.
The Brokkrs represent the ideal solution, dropping into troubled areas and Deadzones and retrieving whatever they can before leaving. If the planet is deemed especially valuable, it will be earmarked for future expeditions by the Star Realm. In truth, the humans are vastly inferior to the Forge Fathers in their techniques of mining and the Clan Lords well know that a planet deemed completely exploited by the GCPS will still yield them plentiful bounty in the future. All they must do is wait, and time is something that they will always have on their side.
History
ETCU biologists have spent a great deal of time and money on study of the Dwarfish race. This should not be a surprise, considering that the Forge Fathers were one of the first alien civilisations the GCPS encountered and certainly the most resilient. And yet, for all this effort, there is still a great deal of misunderstanding within the GCPS as to the nature of Dwarfish society. A case in point are the Brokkrs. The official corporate entry within the ETCU’s datastacks records them as being;
“The lowest caste of Forge Father society, Brokkrs are a working class made up of miners and scrappers. Brash and uncouth, they are looked down upon by the more civilised elements of their race.”
As is often the case with the ETCU’s records, there is an element of truth to the analysis but also a hefty dose of incorrect information which may or may not be intentionally misleading. Where this information was gleaned is unclear; potential possibilities include a deliberate attempt at misinformation by agents of the Forge Father race, or a simple misunderstanding of a drunken conversation in a bar of ill-repute. Whatever the source, this statement is very far from the truth. Though it is indeed the case that Forge Father society is highly stratified, with various levels and ‘castes’, Brokkrs are not in fact one of them.
Brokkrs were originally a separate clan of the Forge Fathers – one that took the unprecedented step of flouting several of the traditions of the Forge Father race, setting themselves up in a system at the very edge of the Star Realm. This clan – Clan Brokkvalheim – was headed by those who had grown tired of the hidebound nature of their people and wished to experiment with new ideas and new ways of doing things. There was a whole galaxy out there, they argued, and it was ripe for exploration and harvest. They should be bartering with other races, sharing new ideas and technology and moving their race forward in the burgeoning galactic civilisation. They were shouted down, cursed and disowned by the other clans, and so they went to the Hlessig system and made their new holds.
But all did not go well. Without their reliance on the age-old truths of the forge, their civilisation was not as stable as it could be. They mixed freely with aliens, trusting where they should not and losing out badly because of it. Their holds quickly descended into anarchy, with every dwarf looking out only for himself, nobody having any of the sense of duty or tradition that might have prevented this. Within only two centuries, the last of the Brokkvalheim holds was reduced to wrack and ruin, and the last remnants of the clan fled back to their cousins deeper within the Star Realm. To say that they received a less than enthusiastic welcome would be an understatement. However, they retained assets and valuable knowledge and gradually, various splinters of the Brokkvalheim clan integrated themselves into other clans within the realm.
Becoming known as ‘Brokkrs’, they retained their sense of independence, never quite fitting in with their traditional cousins. As the generations have passed, the Brokkrs have become that which every clan needs in an ever-evolving galactic order. They are the merchants and scrappers. They are explorers and adventurers, always looking for a new enterprise, always willing to take a chance on a new territory. As much as Forge Father society needs its engineers, warriors and Huscarls, it also needs pioneers, now more than ever. The ferocious and rapid expansionism of the GCPS has meant that the Forge Fathers must now recognise the need to compete for resources more than ever before. Occasionally, they must even cross swords with the GCPS in order to do so, and this is where the Brokkrs are most useful.
No officially sanctioned fleet of the Star Realm could ever be allowed to come into open conflict with a Corporate fleet for control of any territory, for fear of the repercussions. However, a Brokkr fleet, small and independent and composed in the main by the ‘lowest caste in Forge Father society’ may easily be explained away as a simple ‘loose cannon’, operating independently of the clans themselves. If they should happen to be backed by elements of Forge Guard, or even an Iron Ancestor or two, well – the Brokkrs are known to have deep pockets after all. There is no reason why suspicion should ever fall upon the Clan Lords themselves.
And thus is the uneasy peace between the Star Realm and the GCPS maintained, the humans ignorant of the fact that the very arms and equipment that the Clans grudgingly sell onto them are often forged from materials stolen from under their own noses. That these arms and equipment remain inferior to those employed by the armies of the Clans themselves is just one more irony that the Forge Fathers can enjoy. For their part, the Brokkrs are happy enough. They are able to do what they do best, adventuring across space and grabbing the very best resources they can with little interference from the fussiness and tradition of the Clan Lords themselves. It is perhaps not quite the independence that their ancestors sought all those centuries ago, but for now, it will do.
Quotes
“They think they can sell us mining rights then close the whole system? Put up a blockade, and turn us away? The smeltheads. Way I see it, they’ve spoiled the agreement, so all bets are off. Forget mining. We’re going to take it all…”
–Chief Brokkr Saxulf Dellingr
“Tougher than a Forge Guard’s codpiece!”
– common vulgarism amongst Brokkrs
Dreadball
Brokkrs tend towards a more emotional and tempestuous approach to life than is the norm for the Star Realm. This makes them excellent prospectors and pioneers for their people. It also makes them natural DreadBall players.
Every bit as tough and unyielding as their Forge Father brethren, Brokkrs play with a passion and ferocity that sets them apart from other dwarves. A Brokkr might explain the difference by pointing out that his teammates have lost more and had to fight harder to regain their place in the universe than the pampered sons of Forge Lords. A Forge Father might say Brokkrs simply have thicker skulls.
Once out on the neodurium, the Brokkrs demonstrate the grim determination that has rightly made them famous. This goes for every aspect of the game, whether it’s breaking heads or actually trying to put some points on the board. Their extraordinary toughness counteracts their lack of agility, but when required they can show a surprising turn of speed for beings with such short legs.
Gallery
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Brokkr Model
External Links
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