The scourge of Merchants everywhere, these twisted lobster men know no mercy, and will stop at nothing to obtain valuable booty. What they lack in intelligence, wisdom, and restraint, they more than make up for in sheer tenacity. They have the strength of three men, their carapace is as hard as iron, and they would happily die fighting. They have no less than 10 assorted limbs, they have 4 strong, short legs that support them, and 6 large, muscular arms. The first two arms are larger than the rest and end in large, brutal pincers good only for heavy lifting, grabbing, crushing, and snapping, the second pair of arms is smaller than the first, and ends in a crude, 3-fingered hand, the third pair of arms is as large as the second, though they are usually tucked away for convenience, and ends in a small, serrated claw-pincer that can dart back and forth at rapid speeds.
Molski have an uncanny ability to detect the value of any item, even if they've never seen it before, or even know what it is, they know exactly how much they can reasonably expect to sell it for, when they do sell it, they try to get at least twice that value. They can breathe underwater, and can swim like a fish, they hate to be on dry land for more time than necessary, and they rarely ever dock ship. When they do, it's to Trade with other Molski, attack a Settlement, or when they feel it's worthwhile, travel inland to attack a Settlement or Trade Caravan. Most Molski live on their ships with their Crew, but some prefer to settle somewhere close by the Ocean, forming a Molski Haven, which they believe will be more lucrative than out and out Piracy. A Molski Haven is generally a sprawling, makeshift, heavily fortified port city, that isn't really a city so much as it is a loosely aligned cluster of tourist trap towns.
Havens are typically filled with disorganized Bazaars where Molski exchange booty, communal warehouses where booty can be stored, prodigious amounts of alcoholic beverages can be found in them. Almost all Molski Havens are anarchic, governed only by the Pirate Code, and the pursuit of booty and entertainment. Massive amounts of ships, armaments, and alcohol are produced in them, everything else, they prefer to steal from other Races. Many Havens have a large slave population that grows Food, does the hard labor, and serves as an emergency Food supply.
Molski have only one gender, and reproduce by laying a shiny, pearl-like Egg once every few weeks. In regards to their personality, they are almost always Males. If these Eggs are laid at sea, they are usually tossed into the Ocean without a second thought, where they are eaten, or by some miracle, hatch a vulnerable newborn that just might be lucky enough to make it to a Haven. If a Molski lays an Egg in a Haven, the Egg goes straight to the nearest Temple of Praven, where it is diligently raised by the Molski Priests, (read, Elderly, Religious Drunks with nothing better to do) to become a proper Pirate. A Molski Egg is roughly the size of a volleyball, and is very durable, after a month or two to develop under the right conditions it breaks open, releasing an adorable baby Molski that's about the exact same as an adult Molski, minus the experience and booty. After 2 or 3 years, it reaches it's maximum size, the average 5 feet and 200 pounds. A Molski can live to be 70 years old, though most die long before then.
The Molski are endowed with an intense love for battle, sailing, and revelry, but most of all, they crave booty, and will do anything to attain it. Their love for booty doesn't extend to only precious metals, if something is perceived as valuable, they want it, and would kill to get it. They despise giving up their treasure, unless it's to another Molski, and even then, they'd only do it in exchange for what they thought was something even better than what they'd lost. Despite their abysmally stupid minds, they are master navigators, shipwrights, and sailors, and they are naturally extremely adept warriors. As a rule of thumb, they are terrible at almost anything else, though plenty have a knack for brewing Alcoholic substances.
Molski sail across the Oceans in search of Wealth, they will rob Merchant Vessels, and more often than not, consume the passengers. Occasionally, Molski will even loot and pillage villages, or even small towns if they believe it's worth it. To a Molski, his Crew is his Family, and the idea of betraying them is unthinkable. When it is formed, a Molski Crew elects a Captain from their Ranks, and will follow that Captain's orders to the death, even if they seem to be mad, because to a Molski Crew, a Captain is King, General, and Priest all rolled up into one. Molski will always divide their stolen booty as evenly as possible, the Captain gets two and a half shares, any Ranking Molski, (Quartermaster, Cook, Navigator, etc.) gets a share and a half, and every other Molski gets a share.
If there is a dispute between two Molski, they settle it with a drinking contest, whichever Molski wins the contest is considered to have been right to begin with. If no alcohol is available, they drink a mixture of urine and saltwater, and whoever can deal with it longest is obviously better, and wins the contest. Molski speak in a stereotypical Pirate accent, and often lie for the heck of it, but they rarely lie to another Pirate, because that's just wrong. They almost never try to actually conquer other Races, instead they just loot and pillage them seasonally, they can innately sense whether or not someone is a True Pirate, (worshiper of Captain Praven) and they treat True Pirates with as much respect as they do other Molski. If a Molski doesn't worship Captain Praven, they shun and/or violently murder him. They don't understand why anyone would ever want to worship the other Gods, and many jokingly blaspheme towards them, but it is extremely unwise to insult Captain Praven within Molski earshot. Molski are extremely superstitious, and follow many nonsensical, somewhat obscure traditions, such as, never say ill of a dead Molski or You'll drown,(Molski can breathe underwater), or, don't eat salt with paprika on the third Wednesday of the month, and so on.
Almost all Molski carry as many weapons as they can afford to on their person, and those who don't are seen as foolish and cowardly. Molski typically wear obscene amounts of jewelry, and clothing as fancy as they can afford to own, as status symbols. To other Molski, a Molski's Wealth, Ship, and success as a Pirate indicate his worth as a Person. Every great now and then, many Molski Ships will unite in a massive Armada to go to war, when they do, nowhere within a hundred leagues of the Sea is safe. Thanks to their Carapace, and innate resistance to high Pressures, Molski aren't adversely effected by high gravity as most other Races.
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Topic: Ye Gods 4 IC [20/40]: Tick 63: Epilogue (Read 104235 times)