Landing and ToC
*First Truth: The Old World
The savage clans called the Skulde invaded the kingdoms of the Old World. Our armies fell. Most were killed or taken into slavery. Those who escaped set sail aboard anything that would float. After an arduous months-long voyage, the survivors made landfall upon the Ironlands.
Quest Starter
You are a descendant of the Skulde. Because of your heritage, your family has long borne the distrust of your fellow Ironlanders. Now, a small force of Skulde have landed on our shores. Are they the harbinger of an invasion? Where do your loyalties lie?
Expanded:
The number of those who remember our homeland dwindles through this harsh winter. Two generations have been born and have grown in the time since our people journeyed to this accursed place, pushed from our home by the warbanner Skulde. We knew they would not follow us here. No one in their right mind would.
People don't return from the Ironlands. This was our last hope for the survival of our people. We only hope that our gods came with us.
Second Truth: Iron
Inscrutable metal pillars are found throughout the land. They are iron gray, and smooth as river stone. No one knows their purpose. Some say they are as old as the world. Some, such as the Iron Priests, worship them and swear vows upon them. Most make the warding sign and hurry along their way when they happen across one. The pillars do not tarnish, and even the sharpest blade cannot mark them.
Quest Starter
Your dreams are haunted by visions of a pillar which stands in an unfamiliar landscape. What do you see? Why are you sworn to seek it out?
Expanded
The pillars that dot this landscape carry with them an air of... apprehension, at best. Among some, they invoke a feeling of terror. Others still push down these feelings, researching, writing, exploring the pillars and their atmosphere of dismay. These people do not last long in this pursuit, dying from obsession or losing their minds to the pressure.
A few are immune. They keep this status close to their chest.
Third Truth: Legacies
We are the first humans to walk these lands.
Though we are not the first to walk these lands.
Quest Starter:
In the writings of one of the first settlers, there is a description of a glade in the heart of the Deep Wilds. The spirits of this place are said to grant a miraculous blessing. What boon does it bestow?
Expanded
Other living, sentient things have walked the paths of this land, carved paths through its forests and sipped upon its fjordwater. There are signs everywhere to those who know where and how to look. They were an old civilization. They knew and treated this land well. Some curse wiped them from the face of this planet. It is the curse that will befall us, undoubtedly, if we are not careful.
Fourth Truth: Communities
We live in communities called circles. These are settlements ranging in size from a steading with a few families to a village of several hundred. Some circles belong to nomadic folk. Some powerful circles might include a cluster of settlements. We trade (and sometimes feud) with other circles.
Quest Starter
A decades-long feud between two circles has flared into open conflict. What is the cause of this dispute? Do you join in the fight, or swear to put a stop to it?
Expanded
Your Circle is your everything. Without the support of a Circle, you will meet a cold and bitter end. Hospitality is expected for those who fit within the norm. Reluctant hospitality is expected for the rest... to a point. This is a harsh, difficult land. Survival does not come easy. It creates hardy people. It creates unfriendly people. But it creates people that take care of their own, when and if they can.
Unfortunately, it seems that the definition of 'their people' has been narrowing. Ironsworn are seen as burdens and risk-bringers. Few inns will lodge wanderers they do not know for fear that it could spell the end of their business, or worse, their lives.
Fifth Truth: Leaders
Leadership is as varied as the people. Some communities are governed by the head of a powerful family. Or, they have a council of elders who make decisions and settle disputes. In others, the priests hold sway. For some, it is duels in the circle that decide.
Quest Starter
You have vivid reoccurring dreams of an Ironlands city. It has strong stone walls, bustling markets, and a keep on a high hill. And so many people! Nowhere in the Ironlands does such a city exist. In your dreams, you are the ruler of this city. Somehow, no matter how long it takes, you must make this vision a reality.
Expanded
Each Circle is expected to establish a means of choosing a leader to represent them during biyearly Althings, when regions of settlements come together to discuss their latest needs, news, and to spread information. These vary from mystic Ritual to familial monarchy to democratic election. Each leader has their own opinions about what is right. Those leaders who consider the power of leading a burden are the most successful, and respected.
Sixth Truth: Defense
The wardens are our soldiers, guards, and militia. They serve their communities by standing sentry, patrolling surrounding lands, and organizing defenses in times of crisis. Most have strong ties to their community. Others, called free wardens, are wandering mercenaries who hire on to serve a community or protect caravans.
Quest Starter
You come upon a dying warden. She tells you of an important mission, and charges you with its completion. “Swear to me,” she says, reaching out with a bloodied hand to give you an object crucial to the quest. What is it?
Expanded
There are many who yearn to join the ranks of Warden. It is indeed an exciting job. The lesson that excitement is not a worthy pursuit of life is one that is hard-earned. Most Ironsworn wish they could lead unexciting lives. Most Wardens do, too. Unfortunately, this world has other plans for them.
Wardens, by the belief of the people they protect, are given access to power. It is addicting and sly. Many Wardens lose themselves to it, chasing the high of a new ward. Few succeed, as they lose their ability to protect as the withdrawal overtakes them.
Seventh Truth: Magic
Magic is rare and dangerous, but those few who wield the power are truly gifted.
And truly feared.
Quest Starter:
You have heard stories of someone who wields true power. They live in an isolated settlement far away. Who told you of this mystic? Are they feared or respected? Why do you swear to seek them out?
Expanded
Magic requires an intense amount of rigorous study, unending dedication, careful dedication, and/or incredible grief to wield. Those who have lost much tend to turn to magic as a means of filling in the gaps left by what they have lost. Groups turn to magic-users when they need them for something, and mostly shun them out of fear and a lack of understanding whenever else.
Eighth Truth: Religion
Our gods are many. They make themselves known through manifestations and miracles. Some say they even secretly walk among us. The priests convey the will of the gods and hold sway over many communities.
Quest Starter
You bear the mark of a god. What is it? The priests declare this as a sign you are chosen to fulfill a destiny. Do you accept this fate, and swear to see it through, or are you determined to see it undone? What force opposes you?
Expanded
The Gods mark some before they are born. It is believed that these people are blessed by the gods whose symbol they bear, or cursed by those few gods who would do such a thing. Those who bear a positive Godmark are seen as virtuous, respected, and deserving. Those who bear a cursed Godmark are seen as lesser, as troublemakers, with pity.
There is a god of and in everything -- our souls are gods. There is a god of and in that stone. There is a god of stones, who sits above them. There is a god of and in that tree. And there is a god of trees, who sits above them. And there is a god of forests, who sits above them. And so on, and so on.
Ninth Truth: Firstborn
The Firstborn hold sway in the Ironlands. The Elves of the deep forests and the Giants of the hills tolerate us and even trade with us— for now. Groups fear the day they decide we are no longer welcome here.
Quest Starter
Humans and giants are on the brink of war. What has happened? Who do you side with? Can anything be done to defuse the situation?
Expanded
The Firstborn do not show their faces often. They live in magically hidden settlements deep in the woods, and have trained the woods to keep humans away, twisting their paths into circles that lead ever away. Our magic is nothing compared to theirs. They have weaved it longer, trained with it harder, and known it deeper than any human could in our short lifetimes.
When an Elf or a Giant visits your settlement, it is generally for one of three reasons:
- They were attacked by a beast and you are expected to help them or face vengeance.
- They come bearing a portent of the future, and it is in their best interest that you are prepared.
- They had excess, and it was in their best interest that you have it.
Tenth Truth: Beasts
Beasts of all sorts roam the Ironlands. They dwell primarily in the reaches, but range into the settled lands to hunt. There, they often prey on cattle, but attacks on travelers, caravans, or even settlements are not uncommon.
Quest Starter
Professional slayers earn their keep by killing beasts. This particular slayer, famed throughout the Ironlands for her numerous kills, has gone missing on a hunt. Did she finally meet her match, or is something more nefarious at play. What is your connection to her?
Expanded
Beasts of all kind stalk these lands. They are vicious and terrifying. They are lethal, clawed and teethed. Save for a approximately a dozen categories of lesser Beasts, greater Beasts are all unique -- as if forged for one purpose or another by knowing hands. Woe be to the traveler who faces a Beast alone upon the road. Few who have faced them alone have won, and fewer still with all limbs intact.
Eleventh Truth: Horrors
The dead do not rest in the Ironlands. At night we light torches, scatter salt, and post sentries at the gate. It is not enough. They are coming.
And someone is sending them.
Quest Starter
A group of Ironlanders establish a settlement in a territory cursed by a malevolent horror. What evil plagues this land? Why are the Ironlanders so intent on settling here? Will you aid them, or attempt to force them to give up this foolish undertaking?
Expanded
Necromantic ritualism is a forbidden study among the Groups, and Wardens are trained in eradicating those who practice it, though this has done little to dissuade powerful, grief-stricken magic users from exploring the art. It is said that some have even succeeded in bringing their loved ones back. Others, instead, pursue revenge against those communities that ostracize them. The summoning of powerful souls is an art requiring viscera.