Broog

Physically the largest aliens in the history of the galaxy, the gigantic, green-skinned, mammo-amphibioid Broogs of the Old Era were renowned for their indulgent lifestyles, obscene wealth, political ties, and organised crime syndicates. Natives of the giant swamp-world of Naheemi, the Broogs established themselves as one the most powerful forces of the Old Era’s Outer Territories, monopolising trade, colonising star systems, and either killing or enslaving entire populations of neighbouring alien races. Broogish society had no centralised governance, instead operating as an autocratic, anarcho-capitalist system run by the wealthiest of the Broogish elites – the majority of whom inherited their wealth from ancestral Naheemic bloodlines. Their might was unmatched throughout much of the Old Era, rivalled only by the Gimoan Alliance and what would eventually become the rebel group known as the Rebels of the Outer Territories by the time of the Chaotic Epoch. As the richest and most powerful of the Outer Territories nations, the Broogs became a key asset to the Ragash rebel-rouser, Shamfast the Bandit-King, who called upon the numerous Brooglords to join forces and overthrow the other great force of the Old Era galaxy, the Gimoan Alliance. The majority of Broogs were reluctant to do this since many of the Brooglords were financially dependent on the Alliance via the illegal import and export of goods to and from the far-reaches of the Outer Territories. Nevertheless, the Ragash convinced them to join the rebellion by promising them vast territories of the soon-to-be dismantled Alliance, along with a hefty portion of the financial spoils. The signing of the Broogpact gave Shamfast’s rebellion the financial and political aid it needed to become a real threat to the Gimoan Alliance, providing it with much of the bulk of the Rebel army, all the accumulated investment of the Brooglords, and the intelligence of the Broogish smuggling organisations. At the culmination of the uprising and the ensuing Chaotic Wars, the Alliance fell into the leadership of the Ragash, who implemented the short-lived Ragash Regime. Few of the promises made to the Brooglords were met, resulting in and contributing to the overthrowal of the Ragash and the end of the Old Era itself. The Broogs never again enjoyed such wealth as they had before the rebellion, and under the dominion of new empires at the start of the Middle Era, what little wealth the Broogs retained was quickly divided up and redistributed. Slowly the Broogs disappeared from existence, with the last of the Naheemic-descendent Brooglords, Lord Gdrashk, being imprisoned on the dreaded jail-world of Dregmur, where he is thought to have lived for hundreds of years in the deepest pits of the Murk.

**The Brooglords**

A Brooglord was any member of the Broogish autocracy, who ruled absolutely over their own private territories. The power of the Brooglords varied from Broog to Broog; with most Brooglords privatising multiple planetary systems, others ruling over single planets or moons, and the most powerful among them monopolising their own miniature empires of multiple star systems. The Brooglords were renowned for their obscene wealth, lavish lifestyles, and the extreme cruelty of their subjects (usually the locals of whichever planet the Brooglord comes to own). In most cases, the wealth of a Brooglord was inherited from an ancestral member of Naheemi’s elite class, who hoarded vast amounts of money in their cavernous vaults. This meant that Naheemi, the Broogish homeworld, saw little in the way of development, and caused such a wide class disparity that the general Naheemic population suffered from such extreme poverty that many either starved to death or lived self-sufficient, secluded lives in Naheemi’s swamplands, away from the domination of the Broogish elite. Whilst most of the Brooglords inherited their illustrious title, some Broogs became Brooglords through their own acquisition of wealth, usually as a result of illegal trade in and out of the Gimoan Alliance. The reign of the Brooglords came to an end, however, with the defeat of the Alliance at the end of the Chaotic Wars – a conflict funded by the Brooglords themselves at the signing of the Broogpact. The last of the Brooglords, Lord Gdrashk, is said to have died after a long life imprisoned in the deepest pits of the Murk.

**The Broogpact**

The Broogpact was the official treaty signed by the Ragash rebel-leader, Shamfast the Bandit-King, and the various Brooglords of the early Chaotic Epoch. The treaty legitimised the Broogish allegiance to the Rebels of the Outer Territories, and effectively instigated the large-scale rebellion against the Gimoan Alliance that led to the long and epoch-defining Chaotic Wars. This resulted in the downfall of the Alliance, the destruction of numerous Old Era nations, and the end of the Old Era itself with the rise of the new imperial nations at the dawn of the Imperial Epoch. As the richest and most powerful of the Outer Territories nations, the Broogs were the most important asset to Shamfast’s rebellion against the Alliance. Shamfast was reportedly “mad with urgency” to get the Broogs to sign the treaty, but the majority of Broogs were reluctant to do this since many of the Brooglords were financially dependent on the Alliance via the illegal import and export of goods to and from the far-reaches of the Outer Territories. Nevertheless, Shamfast and his Ragash ambassadors convinced the Brooglords to join the rebellion by promising them vast territories of the soon-to-be dismantled Alliance, along with a hefty portion of the financial spoils. The signing of the Broogpact gave Shamfast’s rebellion the financial and political aid it needed to become a real threat to the Gimoan Alliance, providing it with much of the bulk of the Rebel army, all the accumulated investment of the Brooglords, and the intelligence of the Broogish smuggling organisations. The signing finally took place shortly before Shamfast’s death due to increasingly severe ill-health. According to some accounts, his hand was guided to the paper by members of his entourage since he was too frail to lift it himself. Other sources report him as appearing old and grey but with “all the strength of the many Brooglords combined,” – the accounts vary wildly due to the sheer number of witnesses present. The Broogpact remains one of the most pivotal political moments in the history of the galaxy, although unfortunately the treaty itself has been lost to time and the devastating war it instigated.