Ancient History was created collaboratively, by the whole group via a Dawn of World game. (Alas, notes never typed up and lost to history.)
Recent History
Almost 150 years have passed since the end of the Second Age.
The dwarves of the Axe Reft Mountains emerged from their deep excavations with riches and madness. They soon pushed east, pitting their iron forged axes against the peaceful gnomish settlements to their east. Their advanced armors and sophisticated weaponry (for many years they were the only race to manufacture crossbows) forced the gnomes down the slopes of the mountain. Soon the gnomish settlements hid around the foothills clustered behind the Flame Peaks and thick forests clustered around the southern bay. Rumor has it that the draconians (1, 2) suffered devastation in their homeland. Magical experiments in the dead zone (or magic used in their war against their neighbors, the Giants) took on a life of its own. Legend says the zone ripped, or that the planar rift the Tower of Clouds was built upon gave way. All that is known is that many strange and twisted beasts are rumored to crawl forth from the foundations of the Cloud Tower… and the tower’s foundations run deep below the mountains. Legend says that it was in these days that nearby Draconians warped from the form most of us are familiar with (the Baaz) into new and strange forms. While the Draconians of Point Draco in the west (and, it is rumored, the Draconian Fort in the east) remained steadfast, the draconians of the dead zone were pushed from their mountain peaks. They scattered, largely to the south, into the great deserts of the midlands. Many, however, unified under a commander Skúli, who led them to the west. It is unknown how much was planned in advance; today too much of history and rumor are mixed. What is known is that 68 years ago, Commander Skúli led his draconians from the east, while the dwarven forces marched from the south. Petty dukes were turned against each other (they now claim by dark magic, rather than avarice) and client states knelt to the dwarven lords. Seven years of bloody battles were fought across the great farmlands and among the villages and keeps of the humans. Draconian martial might and dark dwarven magics broke the resisting human towers and summoned the fallen to slay the few besieged defenders. For the last forty years, the great farmlands of northern have strained under the dwarven overlords and their draconian enforcers.
Quick Timeline: (years ago)
-130? Axe Reft Mountain dwarves begin calling upon evil for wealth and power
-110 Axe Reft Dwarves march on their south eastern neighbors, the gnomes, scattering them. They use the dead to augment their forces.
-68 Dwarves and Draconians begin conquest of human lands to the north
-61 Dwarven victory essentially complete; they colonize the peaks to the north of the valley
-50s Dwarves build tribute roads across the human lands (and to their north colony), draconians enforce the occupation
– 44 Dwarves and Draconians march on the Silver Elves; their fierce assault and dark magics pierce the wall.
– 44 Human and Silver Elf bandits and gureillas of the rocky highlands hit dwarven supply trains, blunting the offensive
– 43 Bloody battles between the incredibly magically skilled Silver Elves against the the invaders utilize the most powerful known magic to date. At terrible cost, the dwarves and draconians are pushed back
– 42 to 38 Battles fought to stalemate, dwarves unable to breach the wall again
-38 to -25 The forces thrown against the enemies of the dwarves shift, with more and more of the forces being composed of Clay Dwarves
Cultures and Countries
Gnomes, including the City of Felixis (the settlement where the game started)
Silverene [Elemental Elves]
Treelore and Vartains [Wood Elves of the forest and splinter group along the river]
Bosco [Humans of the Bosco plain]
Lost Ones [Humans from Sands of the Lost]
Kingdom of Arches [Cliff dwelling humans]
Axe Reft Dwarves
Draconians [Mercenary/Draconia] (1, 2)
Draconians [Fort Draconia and Port Draco]
Northern Dwarves
Languages of the West
Trade/Common– Enough language to barter with gestures or ask for milk, not enough to carry out complex discussions. Works with essentially everyone, save wild beasts.
Gnomish– The traditional language of the gnomish people.
Silverene — The language of the Silver Elves of the western peninsula; rarely spoken beyond the borders of their homeland.
Elvish– The language of Treelore and Vartain. Rare to hear in the west.
Bosco– The language of the humans of the Bosco plains. Draconian bits of language keep getting mixed in. Bosco has several regional variations for each of the city-states and petty principalities.
Archan– The language of the humans of the east, both the Sands of the Lost and the Kingdom of Arches.
Axian– The common language of the Dwarven Axe Haft empire, traditional language of the Stone Dwarves
Low Axian– The limited language/gruntspeak of the clay dwarves. Strong regional differences.
Deep Axian– The secret language of the dwarf king’s court; related to Infernal
Draconic– Language of the Draconians; rumored to be related to the language of Cloud Tower.
Giantish– Language of Giants and their subjects, poorly spoken by many trolls and ogres.
Common Names
Dwarves of the Dwarfcrown Mountains: Viking/Norse inspired (Males, Females)
Dwarves of the Icy North: (either Scottish or Norwegian, undetermined)
Humans (north of the Dwarf Crown Mountains, Milanose): Italian
Humans (Kingdom of Arches, east of the Red Desert): Byzantine
Humans (southwest of the Red Desert): Greek
Draconians (when they’ll talk to you): Draconic names
Gnomes: Arthurian (Welshlike)
Elves, Silver (Silverene, Elemental/Moon): Catalan
Elves, Bronze (Treelore, Wood/traditional): Celtic
Other Name Generators
Rumors Of Iron
Recent Rumors:
The Silver Elves have launched a successful assault from their enchanted walls. Their combat magic proves deadly.
The silver elf assault wouldn’t have been half as successful if their agents hadn’t coordinated a “mindful fist” uprising at the same time.
The dwarven army fell apart when they were confronted with power mages.
There weren’t enough stone dwarves to stiffen the mostly clay dwarf army against the terrifying magical assault.
Axe Reft Dwarf Rumors:
Dwarven women can only produce a few Dwarves of Stone over their lifetime. After the stone in their blood is used up, their remaining children will be Clay Dwarves
Dwarven women are frequently found fightering alongside their men, because any woman who stays at home has to bear more dwarves for the army.
The dwarven hordes are so vast that the breadbasket of Boscoan Plains are exhausted supplying the dwarves, leaving little for the farmers.
Fiendish blood (and even half fiends) are common in the dwarf armies
The dwarves of the king’s clan have embraced the darkness and drawn upon madness
The dwarves have many warlocks in their ranks; their dark spears have been seen on many battlefields
Many clans serve out of fear and wish to choose a new king
Dwarves use demon allies in battle; some still roam the northlands
In the depths of the King’s complex is a portal to a plane of riches, the source of his people’s unending wealth
The Dwarves are preparing to mount an expedition to the Lost City, Sands of the Lost, to steal a mythical shield and adapt it to defend them against the Dead Zone (around the old Cloud Tower). — Jennifer
Clay Dwarves are treated like trash and kept apart from Stone Dwarves
Clay Dwarves are cowardly and will break and run if they aren’t led by Stone Dwarves
There are more Clay Dwarves than Stone Dwarves, and they continue to breed at an outrageous pace.
Stone Dwarves have difficulty telling the difference between Gnomes and Clay Dwarves, though Clay Dwarves are much harder to fool.
Other Rumors:
The Silver Elves invented “mindful fist” fighting (the monk class) as a complement (or side effect) of their magical studies
Silver Elves wander the conquered human lands, teaching humans “mindful fist” in secret to avoid the weaponry laws
Bronze Elves are rumored to have a tradition of Sword and Spell fighting (duskblades)
Ymsaril the 8th, leader of the true weres, lies on her deathbed. Her people seek out priests and mages to preserve her life.
The Merpeople are grumbling against the Goblin Pirates because they’re soiling the sea; suspiciously, the pirates have lost a few ships in the reefs recently. — Jennifer
Idea Prompts:
Kev, any rumors about the Draconians? Are they all cute and cuddly, or just the ones working for the dwarves? How about Draconia, the city they founded near the Mage Tower? What about the culture of the conquered humans from Lazor’s homeland?
Josh, anything the gnomes are particularly known for? They’ve been fighting the dwarves the longest… and their old kingdom is now a part of dwarven lands. Do any gnomes still remember the secret ways? Are the gnomes comitted to reconquering their homeland, or would they be content in their new land if the dwarves would stop fighting them? Are there factions or leaders among the gnomes?
Ben, anything about the culture of Silverene? Or Golden Citadel and the Mage Tower in its center? Perhaps about the mages– do they rule the society or participate in any way? Or are they reclusive and not a part of the main culture? Do they allow any other races inside their kingdom behind the wall? Any ambassadors to the world?
Character Creation Resources
D&D links page: For generators, links to resource sites, etc.
Setup: The basic rules for the game (house rules and modifications)
Skill Packages: The skill packages rules for our campaign, inspired by Iron Heroes
Acrobatics: Balance and tumble
Animals: Handle Animal and Ride
Athletics: formerly Climb, Jump, and Swim
Craft: All secondary crafts can be attempted at -5
Deceit: Bluff and Sense Motive
Devices: Search (traps), Disable Device, and Open Locks
Diplomacy: Includes intimidate and gather information
Disguise: includes forgery
Heal
Knowledge (Arcana): includes decipher script, dangerous knowledge to have
Knowledge (Court): knowing who is in favor, who is related, proper titles, etc.
Knowledge (Religion): knowledge of the church’s past, the actual power holders, etc.
Magic: Concentration, Spellcraft, and Use Magic Device
Notice: Spot, Listen, and Search (areas)
Profession: Includes the related craft skill
Sleight of Hand: includes Escape Artist and Rope Use
Sneak: Hide and Move Silently
Strategy: includes Tactics; used in confrontations to fight as a larger force
Survival: includes Rope Use
Alt Class Resources: A compilation of alternate class features and other customization available to PCs
People Of Iron
NPCs of Note
Town of Felixis:
Mayor Selwin (gnome)
Captain Salito (human, Captain of the city watch)
Wizard Kadel (gnome), appears level 3 or so; can scribe scolls of Invisibility, Protection from Arrows, and Knock
Smith Linnet (gnome); fine crafter of exquisite weapons and armor; recent supplier of the PCs per Mayor Selwin’s decree
Enemies
Commander Odvast is supposed to be the Fox Clan troop leader for this attack.
Great Leaders of History
Olnan gave the gift of shapeshifting to the beasts.
Ymsaril of the Weres led her people east hundreds of years ago
Eryuaad led the Draconians in their first great voyage, the founding of Port Draco.
Galro led the lizard people to trade with Vartain
Compass led the Archen to found the Sands of the Lost
Ymsaril the 8th created the Order of Infinite Plains, who closed the great eastern plains off to all non-weres.
Deities of Iron
Compass is the god of exploration, favored by the Humans of the East [Arches]– particularly those of the lost city [Sands of the Lost].
Latherion God of Swift Healing Liberation. Domains Celerity, Healing, Liberation, Courage
Favored Weapon : A +4 True Bane, Flaming, Spiked Chain.
One of the youngest gods, Latherion was a Half celestial human when the first invasion by the dwarves began, he had made a home and family in one of the first villages that was destroyed by the invading army. He returned home from his journey just two days after the massacre. Upon finding his friends and family destroyed or enslaved, he swore to liberate all that he could. Over the next six months he was reported appearing in many places just after they had been captured or even during the battles to capture them, each time swaying the battle and wrecking havoc among the dwarves and draconians. His mere presence would bring renewed strength to the defenders and reinvigorate them, allowing them to keep fighting, swinging the tide of battle in their favor. Latherion himself was a terror to the invading forces, moving so quickly across the battle field that he was mostly a blur, and when he went into a mass of troops they quickly dispersed, both from fear and from his whirlwind of swinging chains bashing them and sending them flying.
Six months after the war started Latherion disappeared. Rumors abound of his ambush by a pack of demons and their warlock minions, but shortly thereafter his worship began (in secret) among humans enslaved by the dwarves, and his worshipers received blessings.
Frangles God of City, Commerce, Community
Favored Weapon: +3 Mancatcher of Paralyzing
“A dead enemy is one less customer” Always one to play the merchant, Frangles is brings capitalism to a whole new level, assuming different identities to sell the same products to both sides in a conflict is normal for his followers. There is nothing they won’t sell to the right buyer for the right price.
Gaea Goddess of Life, Nature, Animal, Passion
Favored Weapon: +3 Quarterstaff of Clouting
An Elven Goddess. Her worshipers protect the forests and other homelands of natural animals from destruction and abuse.
Bier’s God of War and Retribution (more including the real name to come)