Iron Kingdoms RPG (Closed...for now)

[Crash]

This is an interest check for the Iron Kingdom’s RPG. You will need to have a copy of the Core Rules to play. It will be a small group game of 4-5 players and will involve some world building of the starting town Nynsk, so only apply if you have an interest in that sort of thing too.  This game will be set in the Northern Empire of Khador and be set far away from the warfronts so most military professions will not be available for play.  I may accept one non-human character, but I would like most if not all characters to be Skirov, Kossite or Khardic in decent.  Most of the town’s families are Skirov.  Kossite clans do live nearby and some have certainly settled in Nynsk over the years.  This game will likely be in the bondage thread.  I will be concentrating on plot in this game, but have no problem with sex being a part of it either.

This is not a first come first serve game.  I have two players that are already accepted.  The rest will be decided on willingness and availability to participate.  Anyone can participate in the world creation portion however if they wish.

Duwurkyn Volozk (Princedom)

This mountainous region holds the Shard Spires, including innumerous valleys and hills and the forest known as the Rimeshaws. Dangerous and deadly for the unprepared, the jagged, snow-capped Shards are prone to avalanche and sudden freezing storms. Entire caravans and villages have vanished under a single storm’s snowfall. The most accommodating southern valleys and plateaus are home to dozens of small mountain villages, fortified halls, old keeps, and walled townships. Great Prince Ryczek Torinskyev rules the unforgiving region.

The Shards were the ancestral home of the Nyss, who dominated the northern reaches of the volozk for over a thousand years. Some unfathomable disaster recently struck these people, annihilating their traditional nomadic culture and sending them fleeing from their tribal homes. The nature of this calamity is not well understood, but it has prompted many outlandish rumors among the neighboring inhabitants. It is generally thought a dragon was the root of the calamity, since dragonspawn were seen terrorizing the surrounding areas in great numbers afterward.

Several human villages and settlements were also obliterated by these horrific creatures, with possibly hundreds of casualties, though it is hard to say since the people in the region have long been insular and independent, and the full scope of the attacks is still unclear. The great prince’s well-armed liegemen and vassals eventually organized investigations, but the delay made it difficult to find the creatures responsible. Patrols in the mountains persist, ready to confront any lingering dragonspawn or other blighted creatures, such as remnants of the Nyss themselves—blighted versions of whom were reported fighting alongside the dragonspawn.

In the wake of this disaster, thousands of Nyss refugees moved south. They were so scarred by the event that they hardly spoke of it, even as they passed through Khadoran villages where they had once conducted limited trade. The great prince and his people have long grown accustomed to living almost exclusively in the southern half of the volozk, but since the Nyss abandoned their traditional homes, talk has begun of settlements expanding northward.

Northern Count Jaegur Kelshevich insists there are likely valuable mineral resources ripe for the taking in the northern region, and explorers and investors have mounted cautious expeditions to reclaim the area for the Motherland, with mercenaries hired for protection. Even if the Nyss are gone, the vast wilderness region has many perils, including winter trolls, argus, griffons, and other threats. Across the myriad valleys and woods are some of the last barbarian tribes of Khador, including dozens of old families whose houses bear sigils conveying their allegiance to the blackclads. When these inhabitants engage in trading, they continue to avoid the winter stones that mark Nyss territory.

Duwurkyn has a strong Menite following, most of Skirov descent, that slightly outnumbers their Morrowan neighbors. The western region also includes several towns of Kossite ancestry; they seem to be remnants of a more ancient time, including the rustic nobles who live in the mountains. They occupy their halls and keeps like lords of old, tending large hearth fires and taking pride in their prowess as hunters and leaders of brave warriors. The politics of the region are also slightly archaic, with occasional duels or feuds.

Great Prince Torinskyev is admired and well respected across the region, but this does not prevent his vassals from quarreling and otherwise occasionally testing the limits of his patience. With the region’s heavy snows and difficult passes, each community has considerable autonomy, and gatherings between leaders are infrequent. The great prince does not spend much time in the capital, traveling there once or twice a year to ensure his name is not forgotten. The empress has demanded the region’s nobles loosen their purse strings to improve roads and expand mines for the good of the nation, but such efforts have been slow in coming to fruition.



Duwurkyn Volozk Overview

Largest Ethnic Groups: Skirov majority, Kossite minority, some Rustov

Predominant Religions: Menite majority, Morrowan minority, some Devourer worship

Significant Towns (not on the map): Antonovo, Bolekh, Broniskov, Daliskov, Darsk, Grynsk, Holek, Kosk, Kosnovo, Kigirgrad, Kirgorod, Malko, Nynsk, Pariskoy, Ravaskov, Skroven, Stoyansk, Strasberg, Taborisk, Tatsk, Tevek, Tyminsk


Lord: Great Prince Ryczek Torinskyev


The People

KOSSITES
In the far northwest the once-wild Kossites have preserved much of their culture. They are a tall and lanky people, descendant of the forested tribes of Kos. The Kossite people are notoriously hostile to outsiders and retain certain tribal customs, even within larger towns and the great city of Ohk. Kossites have a reputation for wood lore and survivability in impossibly harsh conditions, deserved after centuries negotiating the frozen Scarsfell Forest. They are frequently sought after as scouts and trackers, and many serve the Khadoran Army in this capacity.


SKIROV
The other once wild people of the north that were tamed by the Kards, are the Skirov the people of Khador's northern Mountains. These thick-bodied and imposing people are among the most stoic and fearsome of Khadolans, noted for their strong Passions and intense piety. The people of this region have long been deeply religious-in ancient days they were zealous worshipers of the Wurm, but most took to Menite conversion after the crusades of priest-kings emulating Khardovic. Many mountain communities ale counted among the most stalwart supporters of the Old Faith, while others converted to the faith of Morrow and embraced its principles with a similar intensity. Temples and churches dominate these rustic mountain towns and the people of this region are among the most superstitious and distrustful of those suspected of witchcraft.
Skirov are fairer of skin and generally have lighter hair than most other Khadorans.


KHARDS
North of Ord, the Khadoran Empire is dominated by the second-largest culture in western Immoren, that of the Khardic people, descendants of the empire that ruled the north before the coming of the Orgoth. Over a thousand years ago, the Khardic Empire and its western horselords conquered many small nations, city-states, and tribes, and the Khards of the present day descend from the strongest bloodlines of those times. Like the other peoples of the north, they tend to be tall and physically robust on average, generally larger than their southern counterparts, mostly with pale skin. At its height the Khardic Empire stretched across a sizable portion of western Immoren and included many different peoples.



The Town

Nynsk
Nynsk is a logging and smelting town in nestled between the forest of the Rimeshaws and the Shard Spires along a tributary of the Neves River.  Being this far north, despite its processing power, Nynsk has little military presence.  It is simply too far from the borders of Ord and Cygnar for it to be in any real danger from battle.  Nynsk is where the player characters will be base out of and where I would like to concentrate some guided world building with the players before we begin.  I have a plot that I will run but there is a lot of room for things we come up with and by helping me flesh out the town we may come up with more plot ideas and help with people come up with characters with a real stake in what happens to Nynsk and its townsfolk.  I would like everyone’s character to come from or near the town.

Nynsk World Building Thread

Game Threads

Iron Kingdoms RPG - Approved Characters

Iron Kingdoms RPG (OOC)

Current Players
Dhi
Pumpkin Seeds
Tackyhillbilly

If you want to play a non-human character you will need to also submit a human character concept as I will at most allow one non-human in the group..

Character Sheet

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[float=right][img height=400 padding=5]http://<insert image>[/img][/float][b]Character Name:[/b]
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[Spoiler=STATS]
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AGI:
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[li]POI: [/li][/list]

INT:
[list][li]ARC: [/li]
[li]PER: [/li][/list]

WILLPOWER (PHY + INT):
DEFENCE (SPD+AGL+PER+Race Mod+Equip Mod):
ARM (PSY+Shield+Other):
INITIATIVE (SPD+ PRW+PER+Equip Mod+Other):
COMMAND RANGE (INT+Command+Ability Mods):
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[spoiler=BENEFITS & ABILITIES]
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[table][tr][td]Name    [/td][td]RNG    [/td][td]RAT    [/td][td]POW    [/td][td]AoE    [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]<Weapon Name>[/td][td]<Wpn Rng>[/td][td]<RAT>[/td][td]<POW>[/td][td]<AOE>[/td][/tr]
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[table][tr][td]Name    [/td][td]MAT    [/td][td]P+S    [/td][/tr]
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[spoiler=EQUIPMENT]
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[spoiler=SPELLS]
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[b]Background:[/b]



[Yandros]

Just for clarification, you are using the newest version of the rules?  And not the old OGL/d20 material?

[Crash]

New rules from Privateer Press.

[Yandros]

Best of luck in your searches!

[Pumpkin Seeds]

Now..I have to figure out what to play!

[Dhi]

I feel like I have a decent handle on the rules, which share a lot of overlap with the wargame rules. If nobody else is comfortable with the added complexity of the group mage I'll take the mantle, but as they seem more impressive than other characters I'd prefer to leave that to someone else and play a skills-oriented Investigator.

[Pumpkin Seeds]

Kind of thinking of playing a military type person. Maybe a border ranger type or some sort of watch guard.  Like the idea of playing a "heavy infantry" type.

[Tackyhillbilly]

A question. You mentioned you would like mostly human... but would there be room for a Searforge Trader? There are a number of Dwarves in Khador, and a Field Mechanik/Searforge Trader appeals to me.

[Muse]

*poucne! * Do you still have room for me? 

[Crash]

Pumpkin - There is not a big military presence in Nynsk so most of them would not be appropriate and lot likely any Heavy Infantry.  This is not going to be a military campaign.

Dhi - No need to absolutely have an Arcanist.  I won't punish the group if we don't have one.  I would rather you have a character you like.

Tacky -  I will probably take humans first, but if there is enough interest we are doing some world building first and we can define if one of the Rhulfolk and there family lives there.  I will need to look up Seaforge Trader but Nynsk is nowhere near the sea.

Muse - This is an interest check at the monent.  After we do some world building I will settle on characters, so you are welcome to participate.

[Pumpkin Seeds]

:: pouts:: and I was going to ask if a Man-O-War would be too extreme :P

[Crash]

:: pouts:: and I was going to ask if a Man-O-War would be too extreme :P

Ahh, yeah too extreme for this.

Most of The KGN book is out to be honest.

[Pumpkin Seeds]

Would a Ranger/Rifleman work then?  Sort of a survivalist and hunter type? 

Maybe put her family there as a group of trappers and traders that deal in some exotic furs depending on the wildlife and presence of those exotic animals.

[1SAZ]

While I'm normally a Cygnar, Ord, and Llael type of guy, this does have quite the appeal since I never see Iron Kingdoms games. I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring on this one. Time to play some steampunk Russians!

[Tackyhillbilly]

Searforge Trader is in Urban Adventures, Page 7. And not being near the sea is fine. Somebody has to be the Merchant handling the supplying of fine Rhulic 'Jack Parts, and other supplies to the good people of the Sea from the caravans, in exchange for ore and other such goods.

[Crash]

Would a Ranger/Rifleman work then?  Sort of a survivalist and hunter type? 

Maybe put her family there as a group of trappers and traders that deal in some exotic furs depending on the wildlife and presence of those exotic animals.

Absolutely.  Kossite and Skirov would work for that kind of character.

While I'm normally a Cygnar, Ord, and Llael type of guy, this does have quite the appeal since I never see Iron Kingdoms games. I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring on this one. Time to play some steampunk Russians!

Glad to have you.

Searforge Trader is in Urban Adventures, Page 7. And not being near the sea is fine. Somebody has to be the Merchant handling the supplying of fine Rhulic 'Jack Parts, and other supplies to the good people of the Sea from the caravans, in exchange for ore and other such goods.

Like I said we will have to see.  I would rather have a Khador merchant than a Rhulic one.

[Tackyhillbilly]

Unfortunately... the Searforge Trader is Rhul only. And well... they are the only class that really actually specializes in being a Merchant.

[Crash]

Might be able to make others work.  Like I said we will see.  I think we have enough to start defining Nynsk a little more.  I will start shooting off some questions soon for everyone to think about.

[Dhi]

One of the things that inspired me with Khador is Aleksandra Zerkova, and the wing of the Greylords who seem to be tasked with sorting old wives' tales from actual occult power, in the vein of the X-Files. Zerkova herself reminds me of the villains from the Hellboy movie, working for a desperate Nazi Germany which is losing the war and funding research into the occult because they have nothing to lose. Zerkova has just a few weird relics in her possession, but each one is unique and has its own history and there's certainly a story behind how she acquired each of them.

The character I want to play is a novice on that path, researching the ghost sightings, twisted fairy tales, and old traditions of her homeland in search of actual occult power that might bring glory to the empire. It would make more sense to me if she doesn't have magic power herself, but is simply well-read, connected, sneaky, and above all driven. If combat roles are mostly covered I might try Spy/Investigator, else Alchemist/Investigator if we need more firepower.

If I can pitch something for world building, I would like to see episodic macguffins, little mysteries for such a character to chase. They would probably be a lot of dead ends, but she continues regardless, determined to strike gold.

[Crash]

That shouldn't be hard to add in Dhi.

My assumption them is that you investigator is from Nynsk and familiar with the tails of the land....

What is you lady's favorite tale about the Area that first sparked her interest as a child?  And how prominent is her family in town?

[Crash]

Pumpkin Seeds - What exotic animal yields the best fur in the area? Tell me about it?

[Crash]

Unfortunately... the Searforge Trader is Rhul only. And well... they are the only class that really actually specializes in being a Merchant.

Tacky - what Khadoran family owns and runs the Mill?  What about the Foundry?  Give me one interesting thing about each of them?

[Crash]

Other questions to think about.  What does your family do?  Give me a business in town and who is it run by?

What are the prominent families in town?  What are the most infamous?

[Pumpkin Seeds]

Realistically and possibly in this setting that would be sable.  Which I'm sure her family did a fair amount of trade in trapping and hunting, providing the luxurious coat to the noble people further south.  Another possibility would be fur of the silver fox.

If you want ideas for a mythical creature, I might present the name leyshi to you as this is a slavic woodland spirit.  Perhaps a creature akin to a large badger or wolverine that is very aggressive, very large and very dangerous.  Still the fur is highly sought after, for its prowess in taking down the beast and its warm feel and soft surface. 

[Tackyhillbilly]

The Polzin's are Khardic of descent. They claim to have been in this area since the Khardic Empire reigned, but there is no way to check that claim. They've run the local mill for as long as the locals can remember. There are whispers that the maintain their exclusivity by force. 10 years ago, another family in town over decided to set up a mill, despite the Polzin's saying the region only needed one. It took a lot of work, and money, but they managed to get things together. Then... everything caught fire, with the mother and father in the mill. The Polzin's adopted their child, saying it was the kind thing to do. Some suggest that the fire might have been set... but there was nothing ever proved.

---

The Foundry isn't owned by a family, but rather by the most eligible bachelor in Nynsk, Vasya Zolnerowich. Vasya's past is rather mysterious to tell the truth. It is believed he served in the military, but where is unsure. His age, also unknown. Vasya showed up in town 5 years ago, and purchased the Foundry for an undisclosed sum from the previous owner, who moved south with his family and new found wealth. There are several black rumors about Vasya, but most people ignore them. For five years he's been a fixture of the town, and more then a few women with aspirations of a life of comfort and wealth have chased him, but none have caught him.

---

Dommat Searforge has lived in Khador his entire life, rarely stepping outside the Duwurkyn Volozk. But he is still a foreigner, if a tolerated one, and he knows it. He was sent to Nynsk 8 years ago by the clan, to handle operations in the area. The Searforges find the mineral wealth of Nynsk valuable, and 'Jack Parts and weapons can find buyers anywhere. Dommat runs a business maintaining 'Jacks, which are used heavily in the mining and other industries. He takes pay mostly in the form of materials they produce, which he transports out twice a year, at the end of Spring and Fall in large caravans.