Ironsworn World Truths: Campaign 1

The Old world

The old world was overrun by a powerful cult. Seeking to control the lands of the old world, they used dark magic to summon horrors of the Abyss to hunt down the inhabitants of the old world, driving them from their homes or slaughtering them outright. The Ironlanders who were able to, fled into the lands to the south seeking protection. These lands were thought to be controlled by the mysterious elves and fairies, but on their arrival  they found only ruins as evidence of their previous inhabitants. They made due in their new home making strongholds out of these old ruins. They called the new world the Ironlands and called themselves the Ironlanders.

Iron

In the early battles fought against the cults monsters that overtook the old world, it was found that Iron was particularly strong as a weapon against them. Once the Ironlanders made their way into the Ironlands , they found an abundance of the material. Their economy and society is structured around this commodity.

Legacies

The lands of the new world were never explored by humans before this time. The myths of terrible fae creatures and other strange powers warded away any who thought they were brave enough to cross the mountains into the new land. The dire situation of the cults crusade pushed the Ironlanders beyond their superstitions into the Ironlands generations ago. There they found only the ruins of the civilizations that once inhabited the lands. 

Communities

Three moderately sized cities have developed in the 3 largest elven ruins that were discovered when the Ironlanders first journeyed into the Ironlands . These cities provide the central hub for nearby villages and farms. The Ironlanders remain rather few so these communities are still small and generally vulnerable, especially villages farther away from the protections of the larger cities.

Leaders

Each city is ruled by a council of warriors and scholars. Though these people are skilled in leadership, they generally can trace their heritage to the leaders that brought the Ironlanders to the new world so many generations ago.

Defense

Each of the cities of the Ironlands maintain their own militias. The plentiful iron of these lands allows for development of armaments, but these weapons are still a rarity due to the limited number of skilled blacksmiths and artisans among the Ironlanders.

Mysticism

Magic is present in the world, but is shunned by the Ironlanders due to its use by the cult that drove them from their homelands. Few people practice magic and rituals in secret to discover how it may be used to fight against the cult if it ever makes its way into the Ironlands.

Religion

The people of the Ironlanders honor gods of the old world, but many shun the practices due to their belief that the gods abandoned them when the cultists' dark magic drove them from their ancestral homes.

Firstborn

The firstborn have been legend in the old world for all of known history. They reigned in the new world and warded away exploration through strong fey-like magic. Once arriving in the Ironlands, the Ironlanders found the firstborn to be gone. Though their ruins remain, there is no sign that they still remain. Superstition still resides in the hearts of the Ironlanders that one day the firstborn will return to reclaim their lands.

Beasts

Beasts of all sorts roam the Ironlands. Though they mostly dwell deep in the forests away from the Ironlander’s new settlements, they occasionally are found roaming near villagers on the outskirts of protected lands. There is much of the land still left to the wilds and it is thought that these beasts thrive where Ironlanders have yet to venture.

Horrors

The greatest fear of the Ironlanders is the abyssal creatures summoned by the cult that drove them out of the old lands. Though these creatures do not dwell in the new world, occasionally bands of cultist warriors and their horrific thralls venture south to test the strength of the Ironlanders. Only time will tell if these forces drive south of the mountains from the old world to invade the Ironlands and finish the job that was started so long ago.