Giff (Jiff (fuck you, fight me))

Creatures of discipline, giff communities organized themselves into a strict hierarchy of command. An individual giff's rank could only be changed by someone superior to her or him. They made no distinctions between males and females in their culture as far as rank or role. Males and females raised children together.   Most giff live and operate entirely on ships at sea, usually stolen NWTC ships. The bigger, the better. Their mannerisms and clothing are an exaggerated mockery of that of NWTC naval officers, fancying themselves far more intelligent and civilised than most other races.

Not much is known about giff history. Their own legends speak of being born when a shooting star crashed onto a watering hole on a savannah island, the giff emerging from the mix of starstuff and water. Throughout most of the years, they lived simple lives in their dry home, bathing in water, fending off predators with simple spears and their natural strength, and yet each and every giff felt a strange sense of sadness. It wasn't uncommon to see giff staring out to sea, feeling as if they were worth more than the simple existence they had made for themselves.   That opportunity came a mere 30 years ago. Whilst looking for new trade routes, a fleet of NWTC gunboats arrived at the shore of the giff's homeland. Upon discovering that the island was inhabited, the missionaries aboard the gunboats set themselves to work in the standard procedure for encountering 'uncivilised folks'. That is, educate them with NWTC propaganda, give them access to modern amenities, and then get them to agree to have their island protected by the NWTC.   The giff were a proud folk who had already found themselves self-sufficient and distrusted these strange new outsiders, reacting with threats of violence and displeasure at the missionaries' attempts to win them over. They wanted nothing to do with these strange men and certainly didn't want to hand over any precious resources to them. They would allow the ships to dock here temporarily, but there would be no trade.   Not to be deterred, these missionaries turned to a much more underhanded tactic to win over the hippo people - addiction. The missionaries gave the giff access to tobacco and caffeine and told them of more such luxuries that the Company could bring them in exchange for their own resources. The hope was that by hooking as much of the giff population to tobacco as possible, the giff would do whatever it took to get more, including swearing fealty. They offered tobacco and coffee as gifts to the giff leaders, to show that no offence was meant. Sure enough, the giff greatly enjoyed these addictive treats, and thereafter whenever the ships stopped near the island, the giff were given more tobacco and coffee as a gift. Fairly soon all giffkind were hooked. That's when the missionaries set their trap.   They arranged a meeting with the giff leaders and said that there would be no more gifts of tobacco, but they would be willing to open negotiations for trade. Unfortunately for the missionaries, they vastly underestimated the rage of an 8-foot-tall hippo person who has been denied their fix. Desperate for another fix and furious at the missionaries, the giff flew into a rage of incredible magnitude. They slaughtered the NWTC sailors that had come to their island. In the process of the slaughter, the giff came with a realisation. The strange gunpowder weapons the NWTC soldiers used, their strange floating houses, and their tactics, all felt...strangely familiar. The hippo people who had yet to discover metallurgy found themselves instinctively knowing how to operate a musket, how to9 sail a ship, and the chain of command necessary to command one.   With the NWTC troops destroyed and their hopes of obtaining more tobacco gone, the giff had a new goal. This strange understanding felt like a calling, a gift from the giff gods of war. This is what they were made for. They would take the NWTC's weapons, uniforms and ships and set sail in pursuit of the drugs they crave.   Each giff formed a crew and took a ship and set sail. During this time they discovered a great enjoyment and aptitude for naval warfare. So much so that after obtaining the goods they desired, many of them continued to sail the sea as pirate crews, aping the mannerisms and tactics of the NWTC before them. They sought something far greater than loot in their eyes, however. The giff enjoyed the intellectual pursuit if warfare so much that they sought to wage war on the worthiest opponents that they could find. Safety and spoils did not matter, the giff merely sought intelligent and powerful opponents to match wits with.   In the present day, giff ships are a fairly common sight in the New World and are something of a horror story for sailors. Their skill with ship-to-ship combat is almost unmatched by any other race, and if one poses an inadequate challenge, they become most displeased indeed...   Some giff crews are more cooperative and seek to fuel their addictions both to drugs and to combat by selling themselves as mercenaries and privateers. Pirate Lord Durzo Galanodel in particular employs a large number of these giff, and are a large contributor to his naval superiority.