Rival Mercenary Bands of the Broad Swells

The Broad Swells is a lawless expanse where gold speaks louder than any king's decree. While the Crimson Company is the most organized, several other bands vie for dominance and the lucrative contracts offered by the northern and eastern powers.

The Salt Shields

Identity: Defensive specialists and escort experts.
Leader: Captain "Iron-Side" Groggan, a mountain dwarf who defected from the Steamfort navy.
Specialty: They utilize heavy, magically-reinforced shields and turtle-shell formations. Their ships are slower but nearly unsinkable, armored with thick plates of Aether-treated oak and iron.
Relationship with Crimson: Professional rivalry. The Salt Shields often take the "defensive" side of a contract while Crimson takes the "offensive," but they have clashed when their employers were on opposing sides of a trade dispute.

The Sea-Wolves

Identity: Guerilla raiders and beast-tamers.
Leader: Scylla the Scarred, a half-orc druid who has rejected the traditional "nature is peaceful" dogma.
Specialty: The Sea-Wolves do not use traditional ships. Instead, they ride giant, domesticated sea serpents and hippocampi. They specialize in night raids and underwater sabotage.
Relationship with Crimson: Bitter enmity. Scylla views Vane’s use of firearms and anti-magic technology as an abomination against the natural order of the sea.

The Gilded Corsairs

Identity: High-end infiltrators and "privateers."
Leader: Valerius Thorne, a disgraced nobleman from Kigum.
Specialty: They are the "gentlemen" of the mercenary world, focusing on elegance and precision. They use small, incredibly fast sloops equipped with illusion-magic for stealth. They are often hired by the Grand Arcane Bank for "asset recovery."
Relationship with Crimson: Valerius finds Vane's methods "brutish," while Vane views the Corsairs as pampered pirates who wouldn't survive a real war.

The Iron Current

Identity: Mechanized aquatic infantry.
Leader: Subject 42, a Warforged (Aether-Automaton) that gained sentience and fled Steamfort.
Specialty: They are almost entirely composed of constructs and heavy-armor specialists. They specialize in deep-sea salvage and the occupation of floating fortresses.
Relationship with Crimson: Neutral. Vane has a strange respect for the efficiency of the constructs, and they have occasionally shared logistical data.