I decided to toss together a write-up for the Red Swarm Militia to go in the handbook, which can be linked in relevant claims. Here's a first draft of it; I'll give it a second go-over tomorrow aside from whatever feedback and discussion it generates. While I have mostly tried to stick to stuff that was discussed (but scattered) on Discord, one or two details will probably be new, so this is very much in need of review.
 

Introduction

The Red Swarm Militia is a loose collection of clans and families living in Shipal-shin and, perhaps, parts of the Othreleth Woods. They maintain a unique lifestyle and cultural identity. The name is of Imperial origin, dating to the Four Score War; they may or may not have a name for themselves (in which case it would still need to be thought up), but more likely just see and refer to themselves as Velothi. Native Dunmer would generally just refer to them as the desert clans or border clans or free (that is, not bound by house oath) chap-thil.

Niche and Place in the Project

The Velothi led a necessarily nomadic existence during the exodus from Summerset Isles. After forming houses and settling in Morrowind, a rift began to develop between the nomadic lifestyle of Chimer tribes and a new settled lifestyle that would evolve into the modern house culture of Morrowind. That split was present before the War of the First Council, but became cemented as the Tribunal lead the House Dunmer into a new era whereas the tribal Ashlanders ultimately rejected them and kept to their old ways.

That said, for a game with worldbuilding as complex as TES: III’s, a clean divide of nomad tribes rejecting the Tribunal and remaining nomadic while settled houses accept the Tribunal and remain settled is rather simplistic. TR has expanded on the split and added some complexities to it with the Dres and Redoran, who both retain some vestigial nomadic attributes. They are, however, great house cultures.

The Red Swarm Militia represents fringe nomadic groups that maintained their lifestyle but did not reject the Tribunal. By introducing a further Dunmer minority in the vein of, but very distinct to, the Ashlanders, the group attempts to add complexity and variety to the fabric of Dunmer society and TR’s mainland setting, where pure reliance on the Ashlanders and Ashlander culture would be somewhat out of place, reductive and uninteresting.

Structure

The origins of the Red Swarm Militia are lost to the annals of history. The culture group has not, however, remained static since its inception, and has both bled members, especially through the draw of the urban lifestyle of settled Hlaalu, and gained members, most notably in the wake of the War of the First Council, during the Four Score War, and following the Armistice.

For many, especially for criminals and outlaws, the Red Swarm Militia provides a refuge from and an alternative to the house orthodoxy. While not directly opposed to the Temple, House Hlaalu or the Empire, clan members are fiercely loyal to their own and reject outside interference in their affairs. Though by no means affluent, to those who are capable of roughing it the lifestyle of the Red Swarm Militia provides many freedoms and securities.

Individual clans can vary quite a bit, and can themselves change and shift overtime, sometimes splintering, sometimes merging, sometimes allowing themselves to be absorbed into House Hlaalu. It’s not even unheard of for the opposite to happen, and a fringe Hlaalu clan to leave behind the settled life and withdraw into Shipal-shin. (Or indeed Redoran clan, as was common during the disintegration of the Waters March).

The Red Swarm Militia is nor organized and has no central leadership. Individual clan elders and powerful patriarchs or matriarchs have the say in their own communities, and often form fleeting alliances or fall out and engage in lengthy feuds. Aside from these powerful seniority- and merit-based figures, individual communities are generally quite small with little hierarchy.

Relations with other Factions

Interactions with the Red Swarm Militia by their neighbours tend to happen at a rather superficial level (trade and conflict) and the culture is generally misunderstood. The Empire sees them as little better than outlaws, but as House Hlaalu sees them as useful and given their affinity with their environment a crackdown has so far remained politically and practically undesirable.

To House Hlaalu, the Red Swarm Militia are effectively back country hicks, but can provide effective support in Shipal-shin’s environment, are reliable trading partners, and are heavily related by blood and ancestry. They played a significant role harrying the flanks of the Imperial invasion force in the Four Score War, and took in refugees and kept Hlaalu and Redoran forces supplied without hesitation. They played or were prepared to play similar roles throughout Morrowind’s history, and were involved in isolated clashes with the Empire shortly after the signing of the Armistice.

The same experiences apply to House Redoran. While, when the jurisdiction of the Waters March extended to the lands of the Red Swarm Militia, short-term tension and lack of cooperation was common, with distance House Redoran has a lot of common ground with the Red Swarm Militia and has never been too badly betrayed by them.

For the most part, the largely urbane Temple pays little heed to the Red Swarm Militia and does not understand it. Especially among local temples, though, there are exceptions that have interacted with them, and found them very pious though not entirely orthodox in their worship. (Not sacrilegiously so. Despite a recent intolerant attitude sparked largely by the challenges of Dagoth Ur’s awakening and false incarnates, the Temple is not traditionally very restrictive in its teachings). Some members of the Red Swarm Militia became priests or preachers, some of them gaining a lot of influence beyond their clan homes.

The Simulacrum somewhat strained relations between the Red Swarm Militia and its neighbours, as during that period many of the clans took advantage of local instability to engage in unusually aggressive raids. Internal feuds also became more destructive and common, negatively impacting nearby communities. Once the machinations of Jagar Tharn became known, however, the Red Swarm Militia proved to be very enthusiastic in helping to root out supporters of the usurper.

Implementation

The Red Swarm Militia lead a largely pastoral life, moving around Shipal-Shin with their herds of Sharai Hoppers and riding their Hirv/Sand-Kwoom. They usually live in tents, but also will make use of caves and abandoned structures such as Velothi towers. Many engage in banditry, and many engage in trade and crafts. They are also highly valued as local guides and scouts.

While to settled Dunmer their lifestyle may seem backwards, the Red Swarm Militia are not traditionalists and, while xenophobic, do not reject foreign influences or goods. They favour metal weapons over brittle native chitin, and while they generally prefer superior netch leather as a light, flexible and durable armour, they sometimes make use of mail-and-plate or simple mail armour as heavier alternatives. In terms of clutter, their native redware is heavily supplemented by metalware, and aside from the ubiquitous sacks and baskets they find western crates and barrels more practical than native urns.

They are skilled at working textiles, but will happily make use of foreign textiles, with or without their own adjustments. Given that their environment is full of dust and strong winds, they employ layers of fine textile both on their persons as well as around their homes as wind breaks, often weighed down with coins, bells or other baubles.

As a result of their heavy exchange of goods and ideas with their neighbours, the Red Swarm Militia do not have a clearly defined material culture of their own, but both influence and are influenced by Hlaalu and to a lesser degree other nearby cultures. They do tend to favour bright clothes with warm colours and a lot of engraved metal decorations, and are rather hirsute for Dunmer, often sporting large muttonchops or beards and long hair tied in a ponytail or several.

The Red Swarm militia will be implemented similarly to the Ashlanders, but are not planned to be joinable in any capacity. They will both offer and be the subject of some quests, and some will be hostile or very aggressive (high fight values but not necessarily 90+). Given their heterodox nature, they don’t need a unified implementation.