The Outcasts

Lore & Background

The Outcasts are not a single clan by birth but a collection of exiles from various tribes, united under the leadership of Alvin the Treacherous. They were cast out for crimes such as theft, betrayal, and excessive violence, and they now inhabit Outcast Island—a barren, heavily fortified stronghold. Unlike Drago Bludvist's army, they do not seek to control all dragons through a Bewilderbeast or sonic collars. Instead, they rely on cunning, ambushes, and occasional use of captured dragons (via simple chains or cages) to further their goals. Their ideology is one of survival and opportunism, not a grand crusade for dragon domination. They have no interest in bonding with dragons or understanding them; they view dragons as tools or threats to be exploited or eliminated. This puts them at odds with Berk's dragon riders, but their methods are far less sophisticated than Drago's. The Outcasts' base is a network of wooden fortifications and caves on Outcast Island, not the Northern Ice Caves, which are associated solely with Drago Bludvist. Their downfall in the TV series often comes from their own greed and infighting, rather than a single climactic battle. They remain a persistent nuisance throughout the series, but they are never a world-ending threat like Drago's army.

In Their Own Story

The wind howled through the ice caverns, carrying a chill that seeped deeper than any winter on Berk. A rider adjusted the leather straps of his control collar, checking the mechanism before mounting a snarling Night Fury. There was no warmth here, only the cold hum of machines and the heavy silence of beasts waiting for orders. Drago stood at the precipice, watching the map of their conquests expand in the firelight. He did not need to speak; the fear in his men's eyes kept them moving forward into the dark.

Reader's Guide

The Outcasts operated under a philosophy of dominance rather than partnership with dragons. Unlike the Vikings of Berk who sought to understand and ride their beasts alongside them, this faction believed dragons should be enslaved as weapons of war. Their leadership structure was strictly hierarchical, centered entirely around Drago Bludvist, whose authority was absolute and enforced through fear. There were no elected chieftains or councils; orders flowed downward from the leader without question. Key members included a vast army of riders who had been exiled from their home villages for excessive violence against dragons. They utilized specialized technology, such as control collars, to suppress dragon will and force obedience. Their role in the conflict was central to the second film's narrative, threatening global dragon populations with mass enslavement via a captured Bewilderbeast. Significant alliances were non-existent, as they viewed other clans as obstacles or resources to be conquered. Betrayals within the ranks are not explicitly detailed in canon, but their ultimate defeat came when their leader was overthrown and their base destroyed during a confrontation with Hiccup and Toothless. The group effectively ceased to exist following these events, leaving no lasting political legacy beyond the scars of war on the Viking world.

Did You Know?

• The Outcasts are led by Alvin the Treacherous, not Drago Bludvist. Drago leads a separate, more powerful army that appears in 'How to Train Your Dragon 2'.
• The Outcasts first appear in the TV series 'How to Train Your Dragon: The Series', not in the second film.
• Their base is Outcast Island, a rocky fortress in the Barbaric Archipelago, not the Northern Ice Caves (which belong to Drago Bludvist).
• The Outcasts do not use a Bewilderbeast or sonic pulses for mass mind control; that is a tactic exclusive to Drago Bludvist's army.