The Lawless Space (Outlaw Expansion)
Tired of the underwhelming pirate system in vanilla Stellaris? This mod introduces entirely new “outlaw” mechanics created with original pirate assets to provide more early- and mid-game threats. Currently supported game version: v3.14.*
Once an empire reaches 70+ pops and 20 years have passed from game start, there’s a monthly base 1% chance for an outlaw fleet to spawn outside or inside its borders (frontier systems have higher odds). Criminal/deviant activity and Fanatic Authoritarian/Militarist ethics raise the chance, while Fanatic Egalitarian/Pacifist ethics and enacted GALPOL/ISD resolution lower it. The chance also drops slightly after mid- and late-game years are reached. If outlaws do appear, the parent empire won’t spawn more for at least 10–12.5 years (depending on whether active criminals/deviants are present).
Outlaws act like standard pirates at first, but can destroy starbases (similar to the Horde and other crises). Once they seize a system, they instantly get a small extra fleet.
Outlaws have guardian fleets that protect stations and roaming fleets that patrol their territory. Sometimes they’ll send a roaming fleet to claim an adjacent system and create a new station – preferring unclaimed systems and avoiding Fallen Empires entirely. They replenish quickly: guardian fleets reappear after defeat once stations are secure, and new roaming fleets appear every two years (capped by claimed territory size). Stations also occasionally create new ships for existing roaming fleets.
Outlaw countries have a Power Level from 1 to 16. It represents their tech and military might and is based on parent empire population at the moment of initial outlaw spawn:
- Level 2 requires 140+ parent pops, Level 3 requires 210+, and so on (every 70 pops).
- A higher Power Level boosts new fleet power and unlocks better ship types and designs: basic Raiders at PL1, tier 1 upgrades at PL2, Frigates at PL3, tier 2 upgrades and Cruisers at PL6, Galleons at PL7.
- Outlaws gain +1 monthly research point per controlled system. Every 2000 points raises Power Level by 1.
- If a regular empire already has an outlaw “offspring,” it may reinforce that outlaw country with a fresh fleet instead of creating new outlaws (possibly boosting its Power Level if the parent has enough pops).
Outlaws don’t aim to eradicate the galaxy. They won’t bombard planets or enter empire capital systems, but will apply a crime modifier to planets of the same “type” (machine, hive, or individualist) and downgrade/kill all FTL inhibitors. If they grow so strong that their total fleet power significantly surpasses the top playable empire, they become “overextended,” halting their research, new ships, and expansion – though they can still get reinforcements and Power Level increases from their parent.
The vanilla Arm Privateers espionage operation is reworked to use new features from this mod. Should a suitable location be found, a fresh outlaw country will spawn instead of the usual privateers upon operation completion (the target’s 10–12.5 year outlaw cooldown will begin anew). Operation cooldown is raised from 3 to 8 years to compensate for increased severity of its outcome.
This mod reuses as many vanilla features as possible – so it’s compatible with all languages and leaves standard piracy intact. It only overrides a handful of vanilla pirate events and designs, keeping its footprint small and likely compatible with most other mods. Have fun with your new lawless threats!
