The Black Iron - 5th edition Grimdark setting (J Lasarde) (Z-Library)

101 Shadow You act within the shadows or outside of the law, stealth, and misdirection, striking silently and the use of frowned upon techniques and items are your signatures. You learn what you know from hardship and need, stealing as an urchin in the slums, avoiding gangs and those that would take advantage of the weak in the refugee camps or navigating the dark warrens and pathways of the below has made you who you are today. With cunning, guile, and uncanny skills you are called upon to do the dark deeds, lead others through the dark places or hunt those that have committed dark deeds. Thief Very few thieves work outside the guilds, but some have no choice, guilds are only established in the larger camps or certain areas of cities and working outside the guild’s protection is often dangerous. You can work for or outside a guild this is a choice, you do not have to share what you steal with anyone. You could be a cut-purse, mingling with the crowds in the market squares cutting the purses from belts, or you could be a burglar breaking into the homes of the wealthy (though compared to you everyone outside the camps is wealthy), stealing whatever you can sell or trade. The work can be lucrative but carries a large price for those that are caught. Prerequisite - Agility 3, Thievery Skill 3+ Background - Any Bonus Skills - Athletics, Perception, Stealth +1 Bonus Knacks - Any 2. Bounty Hunter You are hired to hunt down criminals and bandits both inside and outside of the cities. Bounty hunters are given licenses to ply their trade allowing them to ignore certain rules, such as killing in public, damage to property laws etc. Outside of the city you track your prey across the pale, often facing dangers you have not been paid to kill, but often there is a nearby village or town that will show their appreciation known that the monster is dead. Bounty Hunters have become more popular as the cities have become more overpopulated, both above and below the guilds have relied upon Bounty Hunters to deal with annoying criminal threats and ridding the city of undesirable problems. Prerequisite - Instinct 3, Scout Skill 3+ Background - Any Bonus Skills - Ranged, Perception, Scout +1 Bonus Knacks - Any 2. Survivalist You hunt to survive, wild animals that are not corrupted in some way are hard to find, but in order to feed yourself and provide food for others you must find and hunt them. Often when hunting is sparse you will guide travellers or be a scout for an adventuring party. You have trained on how best to survive out there in the cold and you are the best equipped to do so, travelling the Pale without you is a death sentence, but still many try it. Eventually you will find their corpses and sell what you can, it will keep hunger from the door for a while. Prerequisite - Instinct 3, Survival Skill 3+ Background - Any Bonus Skills - Crafting, Perception, Scout, +1 Bonus Knacks - Any 2.

The Black Iron 102 Derived Stats Each character has six stats derived from their attributes. These will often only change when the attribute they are derived from changes when the group gains a new level. Below are instructions on how you can find the total for each of the character’s derived stats. Corruption Every character starts with 1 permanent corruption, this can never be decreased to 0 as the corruption already exists in everyone. If you chose to gain a corruption to increase attributes at the beginning of character creation, then your corruption will begin at 2 and can never be less than 2. Check the corruption table on Pg. xxx for what benefits and penalties corruption gives. Corruption has 10 levels and each level will offer a number of benefits and drawbacks from becoming more corrupted, this will be explained in the corruption section on Pg. 144. Courage Some threats you face in the Pale or deep underground can cause fear and this fear must be faced by courage or you will flee, have a breakdown, or even suffer from physical ailments. A character’s courage is derived from the Instinct and Mind attributes added together, the total will then be used to generate a 3d6 plus bonus amount that is rolled vs the threats fear rating. Instinct+Mind Result 2-3 3d6+1 4-5 3d6+2 6-7 3d6+3 8-9 3d6+4 10 3d6+5 Influence Influence is a combination of personality and appearance, a high influence will offer bonuses to barter and persuasion attempts whereas a low influence will stop you from entering towns, attract angry mobs and scare children. Influence is affected by corruption and as the characters corruption increases their influence will start to decrease. Your starting corruption is a combination of Body and Mind with the result checked on the table below. Body+Mind Penalty/Bonus 2-3 -2 4 -1 5 0 6-7 +1 8-9 +2 10 +3 Initiative Your Initiative will determine how quickly you react in combat situations. Your initiative is derived from the Agility and Instinct attributes added together with the total of the two giving you a bonus to the D6 roll made at the start of a combat situation. Other factors will also give you bonuses and penalties to Initiative and that will be gone into more detail in the Explore and Survive chapter. Agility+Instinct Bonus 2-3 +1 4-5 +2 6-7 +3 8-9 +4 10 +5

103 Resistance Your ability to fight off the affects of disease and poisons all come down to resistance. Every poison and disease has a potency, and you will need to equal or beat that potency in the same way that you equal or beat a difficulty number. Your character’s resistance is derived from the Body attribute, this is rolled in order to beat the potency of the poison and disease. Potencies can be reduced with healing herbs and antidotes. Resistance will be gone into more detail in the Explore and Survive Chapter. Stamina Is your endurance against the cold, starvation and dehydaration that you will face beyond the spires or deep below ground. Your character has Stamina equal to their Body attribute multiplied by 3. For more on Stamina see the Explore and Survive chapter. Wounds The characters wounds are Body x 5. The wounds are linked to the hit locations on the character sheet. When attacked 2d6 should be rolled to determine where the character was struck, if that location takes 5 or more wounds from a single hit (minus AV) then this can cause penalties to the characters actions. Each locations is linked to one of the characters attributes. 2d6 Location Attribute 2-3 Left Leg Agility 4-5 Right Leg Agility 6-7 Left Arm Agility 8-9 Body Body 10-11 Right Arm Agility 12 Head Mind For every 5 points of damage (minus AV) inflicted on a location the linked attribute goes down by 1 until the wounds are healed.

The Black Iron 104 Group Experience The group experiences the world together as they travel the pale or the dark roads below. Together they will face horrors, discover secrets, find treasures, and fight battles. As they work together and complete adventures, they will receive experience which in turn will allow them to improve themselves. The GM can reward experience for a number of reasons, a few examples of which are listed below along with suggested experience amounts. • Completing a session 10 pts • Completing an Adventure successfully 20-50 pts • Overcoming a hard challenge together 10 -20 pts • Encountering a horror for the first time 10 pts • Learning Knowledge 15 pts • Working as a Team 20 pts On each character sheet there is a place to write the group’s current accumulated experience and what rank the group currently is. Once the group has enough points to move up to the next rank the experience is lost and starts once again at 0. Individual Experience Character’s within the group can also earn experience which goes towards the groups total, so a GM would reward an overall group experience at the end of a session and then individual experience to any character they feel deserved the recognition, reasons for handing out individual experience can be as follows. • A character performs a heroic action • Self-Sacrifice to save another • Solving a puzzle by themselves • Roleplaying the character well • Interesting and exciting ideas • Killing the monster single handed • Taking risks to benefit the group As stated above whether the experience is earned by an individual or the group it all goes into the overall group experience pool. Group Rank and Fame As the group goes up in rank, they will earn fame and become sought after for adventures. At first the group will be unknown but as they travel the pale and discover new secrets and destroy those that threaten the land their endeavours will spread. An increase in rank will also increase the rewards offered for the groups help. Unfortunately with fame comes enemies and eventually those that you have wronged will come seeking revenge, assassins, hunters, and other corrupted followers of the Blood Lords will begin to see you as a threat and need to eradicate you, making it more dangerous to venture into the pale or the dark below. On the rank table opposite there is a column describing what each rank means to those outside the group and what you will expect as your fame grows. Rank Table The following Rank table will tell what experience is needed to reach each rank, how many advancement points that each character in the group receives plus other benefits. The group starts at Rank 1 immediately. The Advancement Table shows the cost of improving your character’s Attributes and Skills as well as the cost of buying new Knacks. Using the Advancement Table is described on Pg 93. Unspent Advancement Points will be kept and will add on to any new points received.

105 Rank Table Rank Exp Points/Benefits 1 0 - 2 100 75 points 3 250 One free Knack 4 400 +1 to Resistance and Initiative Rolls 5 600 75 points 6 900 Character receives a second species trait of their choice 7 1200 +1 to Resistance and Initiative rolls 8 1500 75 points 9 1800 Two free Knacks 10 2500 75 points, +1 to Courage and Resistance rolls Advancement Table Attribute Skills Cost 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 0-1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 Primary 10 15 25 50 - 10 15 20 25 Secondary 20 30 50 75 10 20 30 40 50 Derived Stats +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 Wounds 15 20 25 30 50 Stamina 20 25 30 35 50 Knacks 25

The Black Iron 106 Weapons, Armour & Gear After the fall and the sun went out, not much was left. The cities lay either destroyed or under a sheet of ice and those that survived fled to the last city or to the below. As things slowly went back to normal the opportunity to rebuild arose, and it was soon discovered that many of the crafters that once built the tools and temples had perished. The cities of the Pale and the Below lack quality crafters, some did survive and are sought after, but along with the lack of armourers and weaponsmith, tailors and builders is the lack of materials to build what is needed. This lack of skill and material is reflected in the quality of items available to the characters, many characters start with either low or good quality items, but these definitions on quality is based upon what is available at the time. Barter Everything is bought through barter; this is done in two ways straight exchange or Chits. Straight Exchange – This involves bringing items to a trader and exchanging those items for different items that the trader has, this is often dependent on what is available and what is needed by either or both the trader and character. The value of an item will change from place to place and from time to time, so just because you got a good deal on some rabbit furs last week with a trader, does not mean that this week that trader would offer the same deal. Chits – Traders can give Chits for the value of items bought to them that cannot be exchanged due to lack of goods or lack of any thing that is needed by the character. These chits are either metal stamped coins, a sealed letter of value or sometimes engraved pottery or wood. All traders accept Chits in exchange for goods and services. Barter always indicates some form of deal being struck, and this is definitely the case, with characters attempting to get a better price. Barter is the obvious way to do this but Charm and Diplomacy could also work depending on what you are attempting to obtain and how you wish to obtain it.

107 Traders can be found both on the road and in villages, the Last City and the cities of the below, Traders on the road will often be reluctant to carry lots of trade goods unless they have a cart or mules, but often these traders will have more exotic items. Item Quality Low-quality items are knocked together with low-quality materials by barely skilled crafters, so, for example, a low-quality sword would be a sharpened piece of Iron with some leather wrapped around an end section for a grip, a lowquality bow will be a flexible stick and some catgut. Good quality will indicate a bit more time spent and maybe better materials used. A sword will look more like a traditional sword with a discernible hilt and a cross-guard, whereas a bow will be more sturdy and may come as short or long. When you begin to get into High Quality the rules begin to change, many crafters cannot forge a high-quality sword but can repair one, so many of the high-quality items available are built from various items found and brought to the crafter. Finding a broken sword in the wastes should not be discarded, bringing that sword to a crafter will allow them to mount your current blade into the hilt, improving the weight or balance of the weapon. Master-work items are the rarest find of all and are often magical in some way, again most masterwork items are found in the wastes, stories of lost master-work items have spurred many an adventure-seeking these legendary swords or artefacts. Master crafters do exist but are very expensive or live out there amongst the ruins, fabled masters of the forge contemplating the grand design while sitting cross-legged on a mountain top is a romantic view that many crafters have of these mythical characters. Finding a master crafter will lead to the creation of truly wondrous objects if you can afford the price. Crafting Any character with a crafting skill can create a low-quality item or repair one as long as they have the materials to do so. The GM should set the difficulty based on what the character is trying to accomplish. Repairing armour or a weapon would involve finding a material that can be either sewn or welded on in the case or armour or welded or replaced with a weapon, often a repair could lead to an upgrade. Upgrades Upgrading a weapon or piece of armour can only be done by someone with the right Knack and access to a forge. To upgrade the character must first have the pieces they need to do the upgrade, so a worn chain mail shirt will allow the blacksmith to repair it to make it wearable, all parts of a sword will allow a blacksmith to rebuild the weapon. A low quality sword of iron will be heavy and do less damage, but replacing the blade with one of steel with make it lighter and sharper, or replacing the low grade hilt with one made of better materials will improve the handling. A character can start with a low quality weapon and rather than obtain a new sword just keep improving the one they have, meaning that they may only buy one weapon their whole life. Difficulty based on Quality Tools and Materials Available LQ GQ HQ Bare minimum of both 8 10 14 Bare minimum tools, plenty of materials. 7 9 13 Plenty of tools, bare minimum materials 8 10 14 Plenty of tools and materials 6 8 12

The Black Iron 108 Skill Characters with the Crafting skill can repair weapons and armour and sometimes based on the Level of success could turn a low-quality item into a common quality item as long as they have the materials. Characters that wish to forge or reforge new weapons and armour will need the appropiate Knack. The GM should decide the difficulty of what the character is attempting to do based on materials and tools at their disposable, the above table is a suggestion. Wear and Tear All low and good quality weapons will suffer from wear and tear, becoming blunt, falling apart or just plain breaking is always a risk. Rolling levels of Failure can indicate that the weapon or item has either broke or become less efficient in some way. Crafting Weapons The crafting of weapons requires two things the materials and the skill, neither of which is easy to acquire. Materials When we talk of materials we are not talking of Iron ore or Trees but more broken versions of what you would like to make, though the raw materials can be found it is much easier to use or repair what is already available like old armour and weapons found in ruins, taken from enemies or traded for from tribes and villages in the pale. Often one item can be used to repair another; two old steel swords could be melted down to reforge a new one, whereas scraps of chain mail could be linked together to form a shirt. The haft from an old iron axe could be used to hold a better quality steel or obsidian axe head and so forth. Current Material Improved by Iron blade Steel Blade Birch Wood Haft Hickory Wood Leather Cured Leather Pine Wood Yew Wood Steel Obsidian Obsidian Black Iron Black Iron The chunk of rock and Iron that was called down by the elves scattered as it hit the land causing pieces of it to be sent all across the pale, these pieces can be reforged and are highly sought after by master craftsman as the Iron is said to be unbreakable and magical in nature. Of course, others claim that the corruption seeped from the Black Iron and spread, causing the rise of the Blood Lords and the foul beasts that now prowl the ice. Finding chunks of this metal will allow you to forge new weapons and even armour, as long as you can find a smith capable. The rock is claimed by many to be a piece from the home of the Gods, that as the gods watched over and aided the humans in conquering the elves their home was torn assunder by magic and a piece fell to earth. Whether this is true or not is for you to decide but the rock did have strange powers. The shattered pieces spread far and wide, far beyond the Pale, what effect it had across the world is unknown, but pieces are somewhere in the forests, marshes and mountains of the land beyond the spires and in the now frozen sea of tears just waiting to be found.

109 Worn Gear Items Cost* Descriptions Clothing 5/7/10 Standard Clothing Climbing Spikes 5 Attached to boots to aid climbing. Adds +1d to athletics rolls Packs 4 Adds 6 free slots Pouches 2 Adds 1 free slot and up to 5 can be worn Sack 1 Adds 3 free slots Ski’s 5 Used to move quickly, increases movement by 5 Snow Shoes 4 Cancels movement penalties for deep snow Snow Goggles 8 Used to avoid snow blindness Warm Clothing 8/10/12 Used to travel the Pale, furs, hoods, gloves *Cost separated by an / indicates poor/good/high quality Encumbrance Each character has several free slots equal to their Body x 3, for every slot used above this the characters movement is reduced by 1, for every 5 points the character loses 1 rank from movement based skills. Buying Backpacks, Pouches and Sacks will increase the number of available free slots. Expendable Items Some items are expendable such as candles, torches etc. Unlike other items like food and drink which the character can control, it is much harder to regulate how quickly a candles burns or lantern oil is used up, so when these items are used they last several hours, the GM regulates this and decides when the time has passed. Out in the Pale, some items can freeze up causing them to degrade faster, this is up to the GM, but items that are not wrapped in oil clothes can freeze or become wet and useless. Cost All costs are in Barter Chits. Costs can be adjusted to emphasis different locations if the GM wishes. Rare Some items are rare; this is mainly because they are no longer made or the means of creating them no longer exists. Rare items should not be available everywhere and should turn up only occasionally. Characters cannot have rare items at creation. Guild Costs Most of the items, weapons and armour listed can be bought from Guild stores once the option becomes available. The Guild cost is 50% of normal trade cost. Guild stores cannot be bartered with. Value Items that are sold to traders are valued at half their sale cost rounded down, so if an item costs 5 Barter Chits to buy that same item is valued at 2 Barter Chits to sell back to a trader. Gear Descriptions Equipment comes in two kinds Worn (w) and Carried (c). Worn items do not take up slots whereas carried items do, and each carried item takes up a different number of slots Pouches, Packs and Sacks – These allow you to carry more gear without costing too much more encumbrance. Each will add several extra free slots. Up to five pouches can be worn. Lanterns, Torches and Candles – These are used to light the dark places, each one lights a different radius and lasts a different length of time to the others.

The Black Iron 110 Carried Gear Items Cost Expendable Slots Description Animal Traps 2 - 4 Used to trap animals Bedroll 5 - 3 A padded blanket with a tarp. Candles (5) 2 Lasts 3 hrs.. 1 Candles will light a 5ft area Chalk (3) 1 - 1 Used for marking paths Clay Bottle 2 Holds 1 pint 1 Can hold 1 pint of fluid Compass 10 - 1 Rare. adds +1 to navigation attempts Excavation Kit 20 - 7 Shovel, pick, bucket and trowel Firestone 12 - 1 Small stone that when rubbed heats up Flint & Steel 2 - 1 Used for lighting fires Grapple 3 - 2 Attached to ropes. Will add +1 to athletics Lantern 4 Lasts 2 hrs.. 2 A Lantern will light a 20 ft area Lantern Oil 2 Has 3 uses 1 Used in the lantern lasts 2 hrs.. Leather Ties 1 - 1 Used for tying objects together securely Lock Picks 5 - 1 Will add +1 to Picking Locks Oil Cloth 3 - To wrap items to stop them freezing or getting wet Rations (5) 3 Has 5 uses 2 5 Days of food Repair Kit 20 - 3 Everything needed to repair armour and weapons Rock Salt 2 Has 3 uses 1 Used to preserve meat and grit ice Rope 2 - 3 50’ of hemp or fibre rope Scroll Case 3 Holds 5 scrolls 2 Can hold up to 5 scrolls securely Skinners Kit 6 - 3 Kit for the skinning of animals Spyglass 20 - 1 Rare. Allows user to see distant objects Tent 5 - 5 Will hold one person comfortably Tinderbox 3 Lights 2 fires 3 Used for the starting of fires Torches (3) 1 Lasts 1 hr. 3 A Torch will light a 10ft area Trophy Hook 3 - 2 Allows hunters to display their kills Water-skin 2 Holds 1 gallon 2 Holds 1 gallon of liquid Writing Kit 9 - 3 Contains pens, paper and ink

111 Snow Gear – Used for travelling the Pale, will aid in survival Fire-Stones – Stones harvested from the below, expensive and rare these stones when rubbed heat up warming the user and warding off the cold. Tools and Kits – Used by those with the skills to understand their purpose, Low-Quality tools and kits will give a -1 penalty to the skill. Transportation Travelling across the pale can be dangerous not just because of the bandits and monsters but also the ice and cold. Animals like horses and dogs are also affected by the cold and also need to be kept warm and fed regularly, using the Scout skill or Animal Care Knack, the GM must be aware of whether the characters feed and take care of any animals when they camp. Vehicles like the Wagon and Carts come wheeled, but for an extra 20bc, they can be fitted with skis which will allow them to travel across dangerous areas of ice as well as frozen lakes and rivers easier Use There are two ways to use Potions, Poisons and Salves and these are shown under the Use column, the first way is Applied, this means that it needs to be either applied directly onto the wound in the case of healing items or applied to a weapon in the case of poisons. Ingested means exactly that the item must be eaten or drank to gain the effects. Resistance All poisons and diseases can be resisted by rolling higher than the potency with a Body Attribute Test with any Resistance modifier. Armour and Shields Armour Points Your armours AP reduces the damage caused by weapons by the amount of the AP, so wearing Chain armour will reduce any damage by 5 points. Break When the maximum is rolled on the damage dice, this will effect the armour’s integrity, and for each maximum rolled the armours break level is reduced by 1. Once the armours Break reaches 0, it no longer protects the wearer and must be either repaired or discarded. Repairing Armour For each break level that the armour has dropped to adds another -1 penalty to repair it, so if the armour has dropped five break levels the player would receive a -5 penalty to repair it. A character can opt to just ‘Patch’ up the armour which will only repair a certain number of break levels rather than all of them. Shields Shields are used to parry attacks, and with each successful parry they are used for the break level of the shield will drop by 1 point. It is much harder to repair a shield, and they must be repaired someone with the Armour Knack and a workshop, often with low or good quality shields, it is cheaper to buy a new one. Modifiers Some armours will effect stealth because of there bulk or materials, this effect is shown via a modifier which will give a penalty to the roll by the player from -1 to -3 depending on the armour type. Rare Some armours are rare; this means they are either hard to have made unless a qualified Blacksmith is found or they have to be discovered by the person wishing to wear them and often this will lead to them having to be repaired. To repair a rare item would be a difficulty of 12 at the minimum depending on available materials and tools.

The Black Iron 112 Transportation and Lodging Type Cost Description Lodgings Low quality Inn 1bc per night Often found in villages Average quality Inn 3bc per night Standard city Inn Good quality Inn 6bc per night High end city Inn Transportation Cart 30bc Open box on wheels pulled by a horse Horse 70bc A good quality riding horse Sled 40bc One or two person sled pulled by 6 dogs Sled Dogs 15bc each A dog trained to pull a sled Wagon 85bc Closed box and insulated, pulled by a horse Potions, Poisons and Salves Type Cost Use* Potency Effect Potions and Salves Frostbite Salve 18 Applied - Will heal the effects of Frostbite Healing Salve 20 Applied - Will heal 1d6 Wounds Healing Potion 35 Ingested - Will heal 1d10 Wounds Purge 50 Ingested - Will purge poisons and disease from system Barrier Weed 100 Ingested 10 Blocks magical ability in mages for d10 rnds Yardin Root 150 Ingested - Removes temporary corruption Poisons Marsh Leaf 45 Ingested 9 Reduces Stamina by 1d6 per rnd Fellon Root 60 Applied 8 Causes paralyses for 1 day Wraith Sweat 30 Applied 7 Does 1d4 wound damage per rnd Diseases Type Potency Cause Effect Marsh Shakes 3 Leeches or Ghoul bites Uncontrollable shakes with a -3 penalty and death within two days if untreated Gut Rot 3 Eating rotten or corrupted food Vomiting and Diarrhoea. Victim is unable to act, will cause death if untreated Black Boils 4 Bite from Carrier either human or animal Black Boils appear on the body, if not treated victim will day within a week. Running Death 4 Tainted Water Victims inside turn to water and run from their orifices, Victim will die in two days. Corpse Sweats 3 Undead or digesting corpses Victims starts to sweat and eventually collapses. Left untreated death will come within a week Red Fever 2 Animal bites Victim becomes feverish and begins to hallucinate and become aggressive

113 Armour and Shields Type Cost AP Break Modifiers Availability Low Quality Armour & Shields Hide 15 2 4 - Layered Hide 20 3 5 - Plated Hide 35 4 6 -1 Stealth Bone Plate 25 4 4 -1 Stealth Worn by Fanatics Wooden Shield 30 - 10 +1 Parry Good Quality Armour & Shields Reinforced Leather 35 4 5 - Plated Leather 75 5 7 -1 Stealth Chain 150 5 9 -2 Stealth Rare Reinforced Shield 75 - 15 +2 Parry High Quality Armour & Shields Reinforced Chain 225 6 12 -1 Stealth Scale 300 7 15 -1 Stealth Half Plate 200 7 20 -2 Stealth Rare Full Plate 500 8 25 -3 Stealth Rare Relic Knight - 10 30 -3 Stealth Very Rare Corrupted Plate - 10 30 -3 Stealth Worn by Corrupted Chiefs Metal Shield 100 - 25 +2 Parry Relic Knight Armour When the armour was crafted for the knights many were built using the same design as old plate armour. The elves never used heavy armours and so the art of making the chain and plate armours had almost been forgotten by human blacksmiths. This lack of knowledge means that Relic armour is much more sought after as only the best smiths worked on it. It is rumoured that some suits of armour had been crafted with magical elements, or in this case antimagical runes etched into it, along with other effects, making the armour much more valuable and desirable by those seeking it. When a suit of relic armour is found the player must roll on the following table to discover if any magical effects had been etched into the metal. D6 Effect 1 Nothing 2 +1 Body when wearing the armour 3 +2 Magical Resistance 4 Light - Stealth modifier removed 5 Healing - Heals d6 wounds once per day 6 Strong +2 AP and Break Magical Resistance is described in more detail in the Arcane Chapter. Corrupted Armour The Blood Lords are known to reward their more savage and cunning fanatics with corrupted armour and this is seen as a blasphemous take on the Relic Knight Armour so highly prized by those

The Black Iron 114 that live in the cities beyond the spires. This corrupted armour is plate formed from iron and infused with the blood of mages and priests, etched with runes to give it power. Those found wearing it are the knights of the Blood Lords. Like Relic Knight Armour the Corrupted Plate of the fanatics is magical and when facing one of these fearsome enemies a roll must be made on the table below. D6 Effect 1 The runes on the armour causes dizziness to anyone seeing it, making them -1 in all skills 2 +1 Body when wearing the armour 3 +2 Magical Resistance 4 The armour absorbs the blood of the victims and heals the wearer an equal amount (damage inflicted heals the wearer) 5 The armour tightens around the wearer causing pain and causing the wearer to go berserk, wearer ignores stuns and has +2 magical resistance 6 Strong +2 AP and Break Weapon Descriptions Low Quality Weapons – Made from low-grade materials like stone, bone and untempered irons, these weapons are often heavier and harder to use due to their rough design. Leather is sometimes wrapped around the lower part of a weapon to serve as a grip. Good Quality Weapons – Made using better materials but often still heavy and difficult to wield for long periods. They will be built with good quality materials and often come with grips and a hilt with cross guards etc. Good quality weapons look like the weapons most people expect to see. High Quality Weapons – made with durable and lighter materials like steel, and fired wood, these weapons are the top end for most people in the pale. High-quality weapons are not easy to come by, and a skilled armourer is needed to repair or build them. Master-work Weapons – Extremely rare and sought after weapons made with a variety of materials from ancient steel, obsidian and Black Iron, these weapons are rarely made and are almost always magical in nature. These weapons must be found with the prices on the table just being a presumed cost. Melee Weapon Damage If the attack with a Melee weapon is rolled with certain number of Levels of Success they may do extra damage, this can be linked to the damage letter seen next to the damage on the table. Melee weapons use the Body Attribute for damage. Stabbing/Slashing (s) – Weapon either stabs or slashes or even both, this can cause bleeding damage. Bludgeon (b) – Weapon causes Bludgeoning damage, which can stun a target. Piercing (p) – The weapon pierces the target which can also cause bleeding damage. Modifiers The weapon modifiers represent the weight and quality of the weapon and how those factors will affect the use of the weapon. Break Weapons like armour will break or become unusable over time; this is shown in-game with the break number. Each time the character rolls a 1 for damage with the weapon, the break number is reduced by one. Higher quality items take longer to break. Like armour, weapons can be repaired as long as the correct skill and repair kit is available to do so. Otherwise, the character can take the weapon to a smith and pay for the repair to be made.

115 Melee and Thrown Weapons Type Damage Modifiers Throw (ft) Hand Break Slots Cost Low Quality Axe. Hand 4s -2 to hit x2 Body 1h 10 3 5bc Bone Axe 4s -2 to hit 1h 8 3 4bc Chain Whip 3s -2 to hit 6ft range 1h 7 2 3bc Claw 3s -2 to hit 1h 6 1 3bc Club 4b -2 to hit 2h 8 3 2bc Dagger 3s -2 to hit x3 Body 1h 5 1 2bc Hammer 4s -2 to hit x2 Body 1/2h 8 2 3bc Spear 3p -2 to hit x5 Body 2h 6 4 2bc Staff 3b -2 to hit 3ft range 2h 6 4 2bc Sword 4s -2 to hit 1h 8 4 4bc Good Quality Axe, Hand 5s -1 to hit x3 Body 1h 15 2 7bc Axe, Battle 6s -1 to hit 2h 18 4 12bc Club, Iron 6b -1 to hit 2h 15 4 8bc Club, Spiked 5b/p -1 to hit 1/2h 12 3 7bc Dagger 4s -1 to hit x4 Body 1h 10 1 5bc Hammer, Hand 5b -1 to hit x3 Body 1h 15 2 7bc Hammer, War 7b -1 to hit 2h 28 4 14bc Spear 4p -1 to hit x7 Body 2h 10 4 5bc Sword, Broad 5s -1 to hit 1h 15 4 8bc Sword, Great 7s -1 to hit 2h 18 5 20bc Sword, Short 4s -1 to hit 1h 13 3 7bc

The Black Iron 116 Melee and Thrown Weapons Continued Type Damage Modifiers Throw (ft) Hand Break Slots Cost High Quality Axe. Hand 6s - x3 Body 1h 20 3 9bc Axe, Battle 8s - 2h 30 4 17bc Dagger 5s - x5 Body 1h 10 1 8bc Halberd 8s - 5ft range 2h 18 5 20bc Hammer, Hand 6b - x3 Body 1/2h 20 2 10bc Hammer, War 9b - 2h 30 4 20bc Mace 7b/p - 1h 15 3 18bc Morningstar 7b/p - 4ft range 1h 15 3 22bc Rapier 7p - 1h 17 3 14bc Spear 6p - x10 Body 2h 8 4 9bc Staff 5b - 3ft range 2h 10 4 9bc Sword, Broad 7s - 1h 15 3 15bc Sword Great 10s - 2h 25 4 25bc Sword, Short 6s - 1h 18 2 13bc Masterwork Axe, Hand 10s +1 to hit x4 Body 1h 22 2 80bc Axe, Battle 14s +1 to hit 2h 35 4 100bc Dagger 7s +1 to hit x6 Body 1h 12 1 35bc Hammer, Hand 8b +1 to hit x4 Body 1h 20 2 85bc Hammer, War 12b +1 to hit 2h 32 4 125bc Mace 8b/p +1 to hit 1h 20 3 75bc Spear 8p +1 to hit x12 Body 2h 10 4 70bc Sword, Broad 10s +1 to hit 1h 20 3 95bc Sword, Great 16s +1 to hit 2h 23 4 200bc Sword, Short 8s +1 to hit 1h 20 2 85bc When acquiring a masterwork weapon roll on the table below to discover any magical effects it may carry. These effects only exist when the weapon is being wielded. 2d6 Effect 2d6 Effect 2-3 Flame on command +5 damage 8 Any damage dealt heals wielder 4 Double damage against magic users 9 Nothing 5 Nothing 10 +5 Movement, +1 Agility, +1 Body 6 +3 damage, +1 to hit 11 Chain effect, all enemies within 10ft of target take half damage, when target struck 7 Black Iron, ignores armour 12 Weapon weighs nothing, +3 to hit, +3 damage

117 Unarmed and Natural Weapons Type Damage Break Slots Cost Bash 3b Bite 3s/p Claw 3s/p Head-Butt 2b Kick 3b Punch 2b Leaded Glove 4b 15 1 6bc Iron Gauntlet 4b 17 1 7bc Spiked Glove 3b/s 14 1 4bc Natural Ranged Released Gas Corpse Sweats - - - Pustile Burst Black Boils - - - Spitting Disease - - - Spines d4 x 3s - - - Preparing to Attack A Bow can be nocked as a free action but a crossbow will take 1 round to load, meaning that when using a crossbow you get to attack every other round. Cost The cost represents the average cost in barter chits; this may change to reflect the location that the weapon is bought. Master-work weapons cost varies depending on what and where, the prices listed are an average. It is much easier to find these weapons out in the Pale then with a trader. Range Both thrown and ranged weapons have a range. For thrown weapons, the range is in feet and is related to your Body. For ranged weapons, the distance is in yards. The range given is the furthest range possible, and GMs can offer modifiers to characters who attempt to hit such extreme ranges. Ranged Weapon Damage Damage from ranged weapons can be increased by extra levels of success being rolled by the player. Ammunition Bows and Crossbows can be used with different ammunition but often these more unique and dangerous ammunition types can be rare and expensive. Natural Ranged Weapons Some threats will have natural ranged weapons like spines that can be launched, infected spit or even boils that burst releasing or spraying infected pus. Most natural ranged attacks will be diseases rather than actual damage and the character may not even know until the symptoms start to show. When combat begins the GM should be aware of what monsters have these natural ranged attacks and what can trigger them, that solid hit with a warhammer may have stunned the monster but did it also burst a bunch of fetid boils?

The Black Iron 118 Ranged Weapons Type Damage Modifiers Range (yds) Break Slots Cost Low Quality Bow 6p -2 to hit 50 6 4 8bc Sling 3b -2 to hit 25 5 1 2bc Good Quality Bow, Long 10p -1 to hit 200 10 4 12bc Bow, Short 8p -1 to hit 80 12 3 10bc Crossbow 10p -1 to hit 150 15 5 15bc Sling 4b -1 to hit 50 20 1 4bc High Quality Bow, Hunting 12p - 200 20 3 20bc Bow, Long 16p - 300 20 4 25bc Bow, Short 10p - 100 25 3 20bc Crossbow, Hand 8p - 100 15 2 45bc Crossbow, Light 12p - 150 15 3 60bc Crossbow, Heavy 15p - 300 25 5 75bc Sling 6b - 60 30 1 Master-work Bow, Hunting 18p +1 to hit 300 - 3 400bc Bow, Long 20p +1 to hit 500 - 4 600bc Bow, Short 12p +1 to hit 150 - 3 400bc Crossbow, Dwarven 24p +1 to hit 500 - 5 1000bc Sling 8b +1 to hit 75 - 1 200bc Ammunition Arrows Cost Standard 0 10bc for 20 Armour Piercing -2 Ignores Armour 20bc for 10 Broad-head +2 Causes Bleeding 15bc for 20 Bolts Standard 0 12bc for 20 Armour Piercing -2 ignores Armour 30bc for 10 Broad-head +2 Causes Bleeding 25bc for 20 Stones Standard 0 0 Sharpened +1 10bc for 50

119 Guild Weapons and Items Weapon Damage Slots Special Guild Daggers Palm Dagger 6s 1 Concealed Rangers Blade 6s 1 None Twin Blades of the Malice 8s 1 each +4 damage vs Corrupted Guild Staffs Ashen Wood 8b 4 +1 Ranged Casting Control 8b 4 +2 to Controlling Undead Dead Wood 8b 4 +1 to Ranged Casting Flames 8b 4 +1 to Magic Fire Attacks Heart Tree 8b 4 +1 to Arcane Master 10b 4 +2 to Arcane Guild Gear Type Slots Effect Globe of Eternal Flame 2 Everlasting Lantern Guisers Kit 4 Needed to use the Disguise Knack Pendant of Protection 1 +1 Defence against Magical Attacks Alchemy Kit 4 Needed to use the Alchemy Knack Rangers Band - Ranger leaves no Tracks Ring of Purity - +1 Resistance Ring of Warning - Grows warm when corruption is within 50ft Surgery Tools 4 Needed to use the Surgery Knack Cult Weapons Giant Bone Dagger 8s 1 Made from the calcified bone of a giant Grip of Faith 4 1 Glove that stuns the target for d4 rnds Rune Blade 8s 1 Dwarven blade double damage to corrupted Elven Blade 10s 1 Elven made blade causes paralyzes for d6 rnds Cult Gear Scar of Faith - Carved into the skin gives +2 protection against magic Mask of the Remnant 1 When worn able to communicate with Revenant, also Revenant can see through your eyes Spinal Graft - Offers +1 to Athletics, and Elven Balance Talent Dust of memories 1 Blown into the face causes targets to lose all short term memories Guild and Cult Weapons and Items are only available via the Guildor Cult and cannot be bought from a normal trader, though they could be taken from a dead or alive guild or Cult member.

The Black Iron 120 Guilds and Cults S ince the fall there has been a rise in Guild and cult activity both in the Last City and the cities below, and many have joined one or the other for the benefits they bring, especially those wishing to expand their roles and influence in the world. Characters can join either a Guild or Cult suited to their role as shown in the Recruitment section of the guild or cult, once joined they must follow the organisation’s rules for membership. Recruitment Each Guild and Cult will only accept those they feel best suit their purpose and agenda. These requirements are listed within the Guild and Cult and can be as simple as only accepting those that play a particular role or more detailed such as Skill levels and attributes. Membership Ranks Each of the Cults and Guilds have five ranks of membership, each rank will offer certain benefits, but often in order to gain a rank that will mean doing something for the guild or cult, sometimes this may be counter to what you want or the rest of the party. Benefits Benefits to joining can be access to better gear, contacts, information, specialisations, more respect, and access to areas that would be considered out of bounds to many. Roles that must Join a Guild There are certain roles that have to join a guild the most obvious of these is the Mage. The Mage begins at Rank 1 of the Mages Guild which is based in the Black Fort. Thieves are also encouraged to join the Guild of Silence as operating within cities as a thief without the protection of the guild will lead to an untimely death, of course if you feel you are good enough without the guilds protection than that is your choice. Choosing a Guild Guilds are very obviously linked to certain roles and they will accept characters that have adopted that role as long as they fit the criteria of recruitment. A character does not have to join the guild (except for Mages) and consider the benefits of not joining such as not having to do the guilds bidding, keeping all your findings, and so forth.

121 Choosing a Cult Cults are different than guilds as they are often based upon faith or a belief rather than laws and profits. Any Role can join a Cult but there are not as many to choose from as Guilds, (we will be creating more in future Black Iron source books). Some Cults tend to look for specific requirements in recruitment, even though every role is accepted that doesn’t mean that every species or gender is also allowed, and the few cults listed here will show that they only accept certain people. Joining Both A character can in theory join both a guild and a cult, there is no rule against it, though they may find themselves in situations when what you have been asked to do may conflict with each other at which point a choice must be made which may end up with your dismissal from one or both. GM Notes A guild or cult may ask the character to perform certain tasks and often these tasks may be connected to an adventure the character is involved in or about to become part of, these tasks can often go against the adventures original purpose and may jeopardise the adventure. The character can choose to ignore the guild or cults wishes and this will obviously delay any rise in rank they would otherwise receive. This choice should be down to the player and they can choose to inform the other players or not. Also, sometimes a number of players may have opposed tasks, again the characters can share their instructions if they wish but this could make for some interesting role-play and possible conflict which should bring up questions of loyalty etc.

The Black Iron 122 The Black Fort The Mages Guild can be found both in the Last City and the cities below, with much more sway in the Last City. They accept anyone that claims to have some form of magical ability as Novices and also those that have experience in research and ancient languages as scribes. The guilds houses are often unassuming buildings in the city, it is claimed they send out a magical marker which only those with some ability will be able to recognise. Otherwise the administrative centres of the cities will have a representative that will test scribe and recruit academics they feel would benefit the guild. The Black Fort is responsible for the sun spires that hold the ice and corruption at bay and this has allowed the guild to dictate and hold power over the Last City and the down below, as both would be overrun without the spires. In the past the guild has threatened to cease maintaining the spires because of some law that was passed that the guild did not agree with, laws that have been quickly changed due mostly to the guild’s threats. Being part of the guild comes with a certain amount of power and the further up the ranks you move the more power you receive, and this is legal power rather than magical. Mages cannot be arrested by the militia of cities they must be handed over to the nearest guild house and the mage will be dealt with by the guild once it is determined if any crime is committed. It is safe to assume that as a mage this will often mean at the worst demotion to a lower rank and at best a stern word not to do whatever was again, at least in sight of the militia or witnesses. Guilds Purpose The guilds purpose is the study of magic and the corruption, this is the most basic explanation, but the guild does more than this. The Black Fort which is only accessible by guild members is home to a small hospitable, various research areas, a large library, a number of dungeons, large herb garden and many other safe areas for the study of ancient magic. Due to restrictions to the Black Fort non-guild members many believe that much more goes on within its walls, and this is true. Laws that restrict the study of elven texts or the practice of elven magic and research do not apply to the Mages Guild, meaning they can, and have dabbled in dangerous and some would consider evil practices. Recruitment The guild recruits only those they feel are worthy and gifted. Those that have chosen the Mage Role will be at Novice Rank within the guild immediately. The guild has been known to accept membership from Explorers who aid them in discovering and retrieving lost relics and knowledge. Gaining Ranks To move up ranks you will be asked to accomplish tasks, retrieve items, show aptitude in your abilities and to obtain information. Once you have achieved what was asked you will them be assessed and your new rank approved, with this will come the benefits of that rank. The following page goes into detail regarding the ranks of the guild, what is needed to obtain each rank, and what benefits you will receive by doing so. All Mages no matter the path receives the Alchemy Knack for the Arcane Skill. Alchemy Knack (Arcane) The knack increases the potency and healing properties of potions brewed by the Mage by +1, it can also increase the amount of healing a potion offers by +2 and gives a +1 to Survival for finding specialist herbs and plants etc. Surgery Knack (Healing) The knack adds +2 to healing when performing surgery or autopsies.

123 Rank 1 - Novice Prerequisite: Mage Role, Arcane 3+, Mind 2+ Mage must be learning the first circle of their chosen school. The mage receives access to the Black Fort and its numerous Guild Houses found in various cities, for the purpose of rest and healing. Benefit: You receive your Grimoire and scroll case. Rank 2 - Adept Prerequisite: Arcane 3+, Mind 3+, One mission completed for the Guild. Benefit: You receive the ashen wood staff. Mage receives access to the Black Forts secret library and scrolls for study. Rank 3 - Acolyte Prerequisite: Arcane 4+, Mind 3+, Two missions for the guild completed. Mage must have completed the second circle of their school. Benefit: Mage receives access to the Black Fort stores and can by herbs and items at half listed price. Rank 4 - High Mage Prerequisite: Arcane 4+, Mind 4+, Three Missions for the guild completed. Benefits: Ashen wood staff upgraded. For Sorceror upgraded to give +1 to Arcane For Necromancers upgraded with dead wood adding a +2 to control undead. For Pyromancers upgraded to offer +1 to fire based ranged spell casting. Rank 5 - Archmage Prerequisite: Arcane 5, Mind 5. Five Missions for the guild completed. The mage must have completed the third circle of their school. Benefits: Mage can open their own guild house and take in novices. The mage speaks for the guild and is protected by guild laws. Necromancers receive the Surgery Knack. Sorcerors recieve the Ring of Warning Pyromancers receive immunity to burning Grandmaster Alto Felper Alto became Grandmaster after the death of the previous and first Grandmaster of the Black Fort died, almost 20 yrs ago. Under Alto’s leadership the Black Fort has become much more interested in research of artifacts and discovering the truth behind certain realities, this has made a few suspicious of the Mages, and concerned that they may discover something that will affect everyone. Alto is a strict master and is unflinching in his research. His need to know and discover has placed him in conflict with not only the city administrators but also the Remnant who have insisted that Alto’s research is dangerous, a claim that has made Alto believe that the Remnant has something to hide.

The Black Iron 124 The Guild of Explorers As the dust settled and the world began to freeze it was quickly decided to discover a way to reverse what had happened as many feared that the ice would eventually claim the land making it uninhabitable. These early explorers were the brave men and women willing to risk death to find anything that may save what was left of the people, towns, towers, temples, and cities were explored with a great many books and objects found, but alas none were of any help and with the coming of the Blood Lords and their fanatics the exploration quickly stopped. Many years went by and with it the fear that many had held, as the land froze it did not encompass every part of the land, thanks to the mages and those Pyromancers that gave their lives and hearts to fuel the spires. A new fear permeated in the souls of the survivors, that of corruption and foul magics, and with this new explorations began. The Black Fort was the driving force behind the explorer’s guild, pushing those willing to seek out magical knowledge and artifacts left by the elves and eventually even the dwarves. This exploration was funded by the mages until explorers started finding items of value and even knowledge unwanted by the mages but of interest to both the grand library and by association the strange Remnant that resides upon the libraries ceiling. After a couple of decades the explorer’s guild is now an independent (mostly) institution promoting the searching of ruins and dark tunnels for the betterment of all, whether that be knowledge or wealth. Guild Purpose The main purpose of the guild is often considered to be wealth, and this is true for many explorers, but it is also the need to know and discover. Many explorers are curious by nature and believe that many secrets lie hidden whether that is in the elven ruins on the surface or the dwarven ruins deep below. Much of what is known is because an explorer discovered it, so they have become and important part of understanding the past and hopefully saving the future. Recruitment Anyone can join the guild there are no restrictions and many explorers are also members of other guilds without any issues with conflict of interests. Gaining Ranks Many explorers never go beyond first rank, and this is due to the fact that it is much easier to receive jobs as a member than it is for someone that is not a member. For those that do then gaining ranks is about receiving the option to receive jobs with better rewards the higher the rank you are, access to the guild stores and even links to the Black Fort and the Remnant. Appraise Knack (Social) Using Social the Explorer can judge the value of an item and who would be most interested in acquiring it. Sense Magic Knack (Perception) The explorer can sense nearby magic and whether an item is magical in nature. They can with a high success even determine the scholl of magic the item belongs to. Jobs Many jobs that appear on the guild notice board will specify a rank, this is the minimum rank expected to apply for the job. This is done by many wishing to acquire the aid of the guild to guarantee trust and even secrecy by the explorer they hire. The guild may even recommend a trusted explorer for a job, an explorer they feel will be more invested to the guilds needs than the employers, this may seem underhand and it is.

125 Rank 1 Prerequisite: None Member will gain access to the guild notice board and guild meeting rooms. Rank 2 Prerequisite: Two missions completed for the guild. Benefit: The explorer is trained in the Appraise Knack. Rank 2 Jobs available. Rank 3 Prerequisite: Three missions completed for the guild, 10% of profit handed to the guild per year. Benefit: Access to the guild stores. Rank 3 jobs available. Rank 4 Prerequisite: Five missions completed for the guild, 10% of profts handed over. Benefits: Sense Magic Knack learnt, Access to the Black Fort for information and certain items. Rank jobs available. Rank 5 Prerequisite: Seven missions completed for the guild. 10% of profits handed over. Benefits: Globe of Eternal Flame, Access to guild library, guild protection. Rank 5 jobs available. Marcus Barot Current Grandmaster of the guild and fervent explorer Marcus was one of the first to join the guild and is the last surviving member of that first batch of recruits. Marcus is still active as an explorer and spends very little time at the guilds house leaving most of the day to day running (paperwork) to scribes ‘and those that enjoy that sort of thing’. Little is known of Marcus except that he is a good explorer, treats all ranks as equals and is often never around when you need him. Though rumour has it that he is also a member of the Guild of Silence but this has never been proven.

The Black Iron 126 The Guild of Silence Before the fall there were a number of small thief gangs that controlled particular areas of a city, this was a risky business as the elves would often send patrols to find and hang the thieves publicly, dismantling the gangs and any that supported them. When the humans fought back against the elven oppressors many of the thieves showed their support to the uprising by using their skills to gather information and even to assassinate those that could be troublesome to the rebels. Once the cities started to fall to the human liberators and the thieves were hailed as heroes, but like all things it did not last. As the sea’s began to freeze many pirates fled landward and continued their piracy amongst the chaos of the fall, profiting from the refugees that fled to the Last City and stealing from those that fled the city for the below. As the months passed the thieves became more organised and took on a Pirate democracy, creating a council of thieves and mimicking the guilds by having ranks, laws, and a hierarchy. With bribes and threats the guild gathered allies from the other guilds both above and below, and with this came influence and power. The Silent Guild got its name because it never talks, it does not sit on city councils it does not make public speeches, but it does have a say, either by speaking through the other guilds, or via threats and assassination. Many laws have been passed that have benefited the Silent Guild, many deals made funded by thieves’ gold. They may not speak but their voice is heard. The guild is made up of a number of houses each has their speciality, House of Blades, House of Beggars and the House of the Cat, all have masters that sit upon the council of the Guild, each house abides by the laws and each donate a percentage of their profits to the guild master which in turn allows the guild to invest in legitimate businesses and pay bribes. Guild Purpose The guilds purpose is not as clear cut as you may think, yes it is a guild of thieves but rarely do these thieves steal from any that cannot afford it, the assassins tend only to kill those that threaten everyone with their beliefs or actions, and the spies often spy for the other guilds and even the nobility. The guild does not harbour corrupted or cults that worship either the Blood Lords or the elves and they have been known to actively seek out cults or corrupted from their districts. Thieves from other cities must make themselves known before acting within that city otherwise they will be punished, and any thief known to have killed a child will be publicly killed themselves. Many thieves are recruited or join explorations as their unique skill set can be an advantage, and having someone well versed in the ways of stealth and silent murder comes in handy when facing bandits or cultists (the guild does not recognise those bandits or criminals that operate within the Pale, often seeing them as corrupted or depraved). Guild Recruitment Recruitment is done differently in the guild with possible candidates being approached by a member who sees the value in that person to the guild. This has led to many non-criminals being recruited and occasionally a Sister of Stone being approached with unfortunate results. Guild Ranks Members do not have to climb the ranks, and many are happy to be taught what they need and never climb any higher. In order to become a house boss, the member does need to understand and study every aspect of what the guild does, and this is reflected in the ranks. Disguise Knack (Stealth) Character can disguise themselves as another adding a +2 to stealth when used to fool others into believing you are that person.

127 Rank 1 - Beggar Prerequisite: Thievery 2+, 50% of all earnings handed over to the guild. Benefit: Member is taught Thieves Cant and the meaning of the guilds symbols. Rank 2 - Cut Purse Prerequisite: Agility 3+, two jobs for the guild, 40% of all earnings handed over to the guild. Benefits: Access to a Fence to sell goods and to the guild stores. Rank 3 - Blagger Prerequisite: Thievery 3+, Perception 3+, 30% of all earnings handed over to the guild. Take on four jobs for the guild. Benefits: Thief learns the Disguise Knack and receives the Guisers kit. Rank 4 - Burglar Prerequisite: Thievery 4+, Stealth 3+, 20% of all earnings. Take on six jobs for the guild. Benefits: The guild will protect and shelter you from the law or others. Gain 2 important contacts. Rank 5 - Capo Prerequisite: Thievery 5, 10% of all earnings handed over to the guild. Benefit: Access to the guild secrets and the ability to start your own guild ‘Blue Eyes’ The current grand capo of the Guild of Silence is unknown accept the fact that they are female and have piercing blue eyes, and that description is just a rumour. Nothing happens in any of the cities without the knowledge of the thieves guild and it is believed that the guilds networks and members, informants and loyal followers range from the lowest of beggars to the seats of the city councils. ‘Blue Eyes’ has a few loyal capo’s that she trusts and they speak for her in all matters, some believe that these capo’s are the grand capo, a thieves council and that Blue Eyes is just a lie they started to draw suspicion away. but who knows.

The Black Iron 128 The Fighter’s Guild Many believe that the Fighter’s guild began after the fall as a way for sell swords and fighters to find work, but that is not quite correct. The truth is much more interesting in that it was a secret guild of fighters that started the uprising, they protected the blacksmiths as they forged the weapons and armour and they trained those that wished to fight, all in secret and under threat of discovery by elven militia. The guild was formed in the capital, now called the Last City and it was the first city they captured, cutting off all communications of the elves so that the next two cities fell without warning. Because the guild was already established, the city fell quickly as those taking it were already inside the walls with key members in positions of trust or with help from the thieves’ guild. The strongest of the guild were the knights that rode at the vanguard of the ever-expanding human forces, moving across the Pale collecting volunteers from farms, towns and villages as the elven forces were pushed back or eradicated on the spot. It was the greatest moment in the guild’s history and one that assured that the guild, once re-established after the fall, would receive a place at the table. The guild is now the largest one next to the merchant’s guild and the guilds master is currently head of the city council. Below there is a fighter’s guild in each of the cities and they command the militias and guards that patrol the roads and walls. The guild has a lot of influence and members are seen as heroes by some and protectors by many. Unfortunately, there is a large section of people that blame the guild for the fall, claiming that life may have been hard under the elves but at least there was food and less dangers from disease and monsters. Purpose of the Guild The guilds overall purpose is to train those wishing to learn in the martial arts, this ranges from pit fighting to archery, fencing to pole arms. It also acts as a place where warriors can be hired for guard work, fighting bouts, tourneys, and exploration Recruitment Anyone is welcome into the guild, but they do ask for an annual payment of metals and ores in order for them to forge and repair new weapons and armour. Gaining Ranks Members gain ranks by providing valuable ores and metals when they can, being honourable and purging corruption when found. The guild is very wrapped up with the Relic Knights and the highest rank is geared towards bringing up the myth of the knights as a weapon against the corruption. Knights Armour To become a Relic Knight you must find and return a set of knights armour, these are only found on the battlefields from the last war. To retrieve the armour you must scour the battlefield defending yourself against ghuls and other threats that can be found picking at the dead or stealing what valuables can be found there. This should not be an easy task and can if not careful cut short the guild career of even the best fighters. Shield Bash Knack (Melee) Fighter can bash target with shield as a free action causing target to be pushed back d4 feet. Arrow Stab Knack (Ranged) Archers stabs with arrow causing Body + 2 damage to target, this is done as a free action. Hilt Smash Knack (Melee) Fighter smashes their two handed weapon hilt at the target as a free action causing Body + 3 damage

129 Rank 1 Prerequisite: Melee or Ranged 2+ Benefit: Access to training areas and guild craftsman. Rank 2 Prerequisite: Ten barter chits of ore or metal donated, two jobs taken on behalf of guild. Melee or Ranged 3+ Benefit: Access to Guild stores Rank 3 Prerequisite: Ten barter chits of ore or metal donated, three jobs taken on behalf of guild. Fight at 3+ Body 3+ Benefit: Fighter trained in new Knack Choose one Shield Bash Knack Arrow Stab Knack Hilt Smash Knack Rank 4 Prerequisite: Ten barter chits of ore or metal donated, five jobs taken on behalf of guild. melee at 4+ or Ranged 4+, Agility 4+ Benefit: One High Quality weapon of choice, one High Quality armour type of your choice. Rank 5 Prerequisite: Ten barter chits of ore or metal donated, seven jobs taken on behalf of guild. melee at 5 or Ranged 5, Body 5 or Agility 5. Benefit: Master of Arms can start own guild house, and can apply to seek Relic Knight Armour. Relic Knight Prerequisite: Master of Arms, access to the guild crafters. Benefit: Full set of Relic Knight Armour. Gregor Tourass The Marshal of the guild is a huge bear of a man, said to be just under 7ft tall and as wide as a barn, though this may be overexaggerated Gregor is big. Gregor is the son of a Blacksmith, one of the smith’s that armed the army that faced the elves and he is proud of this fact. His father died in the war but Gregor vowed to never allow one person to ever control another and dedicated his life to the fighting arts. Gregor is known for his hammer, a huge lump of iron forged and wielded by his father against the elves, it is said Gregor searched the battlegrounds for his father’s corpse for days, fighting off Ghuls and other horrors, until he found it. Gregor sits on the city council as the war chief, he is an outspoken opponent to Alto and the Black Forts research believing that sorcery will be the downfall of those people that remain and will destroy the city, something he has vowed to never let happen, whatever the cost.

The Black Iron 130 Sisters of Stone Cult I t is said that the founder of this holy order was a pirate that fled the frozen seas, that this pirate was so overcome by the beauty of the temples in the City of Dresen that she fell to her knees and wept vowing to no longer pillage and steal but to devote herself to the stone gods. The story tells of the pirate using her wealth to establish the holy order called the Sisters of Stone, and this is partly true. The founder was indeed a pirate by the name of Dera Val Gayet, and she had fled with her ships to the pale as the seas froze. Dera had been invited to help build the thieves guild in the Last City which many of her pirate comrades felt was ripe for the picking, but instead, with no intention of sharing her ill-gotten gains with a bunch of drunken sailors, she went below to see what that had to offer. Dera found herself one of the first to enter the city of Dresen and was indeed overwhelmed by the statues and temples of the dwarves, this had a profound effect on her and with this a plan was hatched. Dera decided to create her own thief’s guild posing as a holy order. At first it was easy to establish herself as a priestess amongst the chaos and she had enough money to bribe the family members who questioned her venture. As time went by it became obvious that what Dera had started was slowly becoming a place for lowlifes and drunkards that felt that with a woman in charge they could do what they liked. Fights would break out in the temple halls and Dera was ignored or laughed at when she tried to regain control, something had to change. Dera called together some of the most ambitious female criminals she knew, gave them a large bag of whatever they wanted and instructed them to kill everyone in the temple, which they did. Soon after with the aid of the same female assassins that had helped clear the temple the Sisters of Stone was formed, a holy order of women that would offer healing, prayer, and meditation to any that needed it. They would train girls in the arts that many families valued, such as sewing, cooking, herbalism, and other wholesome activities, and offer a spiritual education. Many of the noble and merchant families began sending their daughters to the temple to become educated. Dera and the other sisters would take in orphan girls or approach Vagrant families offering a better life for their daughters and the temple grew. After a few years and once the order had established itself, she began to put phase two into action and this was to create a school of assassins and spies that would effectively place the power in Dera’s hands. Along with the cooking classes and sewing was training in weapons and stealth, with herbalism was the creation of poisons. The girls learnt how to manipulate through both mental and physical means in order to gather information or learn secrets. Soon the hidden elements of the temple were sent out to learn, kill and steal not just wealth but knowledge. The Sisters of Stone is considered the most holy of orders and many are proud to send their daughters to study the important life lessons. Amongst the underworld the order is feared and envied, the Silent Guild tolerates the Sisters either because of fear, due to the sharing of profits or for as long as they stay away from each other’s territories. It has been known for each to show mutual respect for the other and even to work together. Purpose of the Order The order seems to have two purposes the public one which involves the education of girls and the hidden purpose of assassination and spying. Not all girls are taught the hidden skills and only those that show aptitude and often have no family connections are ever taken into the inner sanctums of the temple, this means that only the best are chosen and that outsiders can never tell what type of sister they are dealing with.

131 Recruitment Sisters are recruited as children mainly with many having normal lives outside of the Temple once they reach a certain age, though still recognised as Sisters. This was done in order to add another layer to the deception. Only females are recruited. Order Ranks The order’s ranks start once the sister begins to become active in the orders various missions. Those that stay as priestesses do not acknowledge a ranking system but instead use seniority, and are the ‘front’ of the order, administering comfort and healing, as well as offering prayers and listening to confessions. Those sisters that are trained in the various secret arts have five ranks. Assassination Knack (Stealth) When attacking from stealth the assassin does double damage and ignores armour. Rank 1 - Priestess Prerequisite: Female Benefit: First Aid Knack for Healing Rank 2 - Novice Prerequisite: Fulfil two missions for the order. Benefit: Receive Punch Dagger, access to guild stores. Rank 3 - Adept Prerequisites: Fulfil four missions for the order. Benefit: You learn the Poison Knack for Crafting. Rank 4 - Assassin Prerequisite: Fulfil six missions for the order, Stealth 4+ Benefit: Learn Assassination Knack for Stealth. Rank 5 - Mother Prerequisite: Fulfil ten missions for the order, Stealth 5, Melee 5 Benefit: Protection of the order, dust of memories. Sister Agatha Grandmother of the Sisters of Stone order, Agatha was handed over to the order by her parents when she was very young, it is believed they had been refugees. Agatha quickly rose through the ranks of the order, far faster than her sisters at the time, making her the youngest to ever reach the rank of adept and the inner sanctum of the temple. A closely guarded secret of the order is Agatha’s heritage, she is a Half Elf, though it would take a very close examination to discover this, and if the fact ever came out it could destroy the order, so the secret is kept from even the Mothers of the temple. Since Agatha became head of the order more Priestesses are available for healing in the temple and training in the inner sanctum has become more varied. Also links to the Guild of Silence has become even more frayed as Agatha believes that the temple is a holy order not a criminal one.

The Black Iron 132 Cult of the Malice Not a guild or even a cult but more an agency that does the bidding of the Remnant and was established within a year of the Remnant setting up home in the Grand Library. The Malice are all Chimeer and it is believed that only Chimeer are excepted, why this is no one knows but maybe the Remnant feels some affinity with the hybrids. The Malice are a secret group, if you are a Malice you never speak of it and deny it if asked. Orders are received via either note or telepathy and often these orders will coincide with what the Malice is currently doing. Though the group are secret it is not unknown for the Remnant to insist that a Malice join a group openly in order to lead the group or to look for something specifically whilst with the group. The Remnant will hire parties to seek out relics and have a Malice go along as security or as the Remnants eyes and ears. Joining the Malice has allowed many Chimeer the freedom they would often not be privy to, the protection of the Remnant allows them to walk the cities freely without arrest or banishment, this freedom has sickened more of the less tolerant guilds or noble families that see the Chimeer as aberrations or corrupted elven experiments, but the power and the knowledge the Remnant has forced these prejudices to remain unspoken or acted upon. The Purpose of the Agents The Remnant are not able to travel, or so it is believed and hence some form of trusted agent was needed in order for the Remnant to move about in places they could not. Also, the hunt for specific information, relics or even other Remnant could not be left to hired swords as often the value of what they sought was more tempting then fulfilling the job, so the Malice were created. The Malice are loyal to the Remnant and will do whatever is bid, they will dispose of any that get in the way of performing their service. The Remnant make sure that the Malice are equipped well and are trained by the best. If injured the Malice are healed, they are housed and fed and though their needs are low they are catered for. The most loyal and trusted Malice speak for the Remnant and often a Malice will be seen off to the side during guild meetings, not saying anything but making sure that it is known that the Remnant is watching. This has led many guild masters to fear the Malice and to start rumours that the Remnant may not be all they seem. Agent Recruitment Agents must be Chimeer and they must be loyal. Often a Chimeer is approached by a Malice or sometimes the Chimeer will speak directly to the Remnant in the Grand Library. Agent Ranks The Ranks of an agent are based on trust, aptitude and loyalty with the Remnant bestowing gifts upon those most in favour. There is no real hierarchy amongst the Malice but a respect for deeds done. Lip Reading Knack (Perception) You gain a +1 when attempting to read the lips of people at a distance. Web of Blades Knack (Melee) The agent moves at a unnatural speed making two attacks with each blade per round.

133 Rank 1 Prerequisite: Chimeer, Pledge allegiance to the Remnant, Survival 3+ Benefit: As an agent of the Remnant you are outside of the law in any city. You receive the Mask of the Remnant. Rank 2 Prerequisite: Complete 2 missions for the Remnant. Perception at 3+. Benefit: You gain the Lip Reading Knack and the twin blades which are two good quality daggers. Rank 3 Prerequisite: Complete 4 missions for the Remnant. Stealth at 4+, Lore at 3+. Benefits: You receive good quality light armour and the Pendant of Protection which gives +1 resistance against magical attacks. Rank 4 Prerequisite: Complete 5 missions for the Remnant, Mind 4+, Survival 4+. Benefit: You learn the Web of Blades Knack. Rank 5 Prerequisite: Complete 8 missions for the Remnant. Perception 5, Mind 5, Stealth 5. Benefit: You receive the Twin Blades of Malice and become the spokesman for the Remnant in all things. You also receive the ability to communicate telepathically with another within 200ft of you. Though little is known of the true purpose of the agents, there has been some interest in the face mask each agent wears and it’s purpose. Made of an unknown material it is believed that the mask allows the agent to communicate with their Remnant master over vast distances and also allows the Remnant to ‘see through the agents eyes’. The Black Fort has secretly stated an interest in obtaining masks as part of their ongoing study in to what the Remnant truly are.

The Black Iron 134 The Grey Order Originally started as an option for criminals who had deserted or committed serious crimes to earn back some honour by patrolling the border between the Sun Spires, the Grey Order over time developed into a small guild of hunters and other adventurers who dedicated their lives to protecting those still trying to survive in the ice or travelling the roads. The order is split into two parts, there is still a large number of convicts that patrol the borders around the Last City, and as long as there is crime this will never change, but now the order also has a Ranger unit. These Rangers are mostly made up of noncriminals wishing to do their part, though a small number of Rangers are still criminals. The Rangers have become an extension of the cities military and are considered the law in the Pale. They patrol the roads, guide travellers and merchants and protect the small outposts and villages still found in the beyond the spires, their job is dangerous, but they have helped keep the northern lands free of many threats. In the below the Grey Order has started a small unit of Rangers willing to risk the darkness and tunnels. The members come from Scavengers, some Hunters, and a few refugees, who some believe join up for the clothes and meals. At the moment the order is struggling in the Below due mainly to the families who are reluctant to have some outside source patrol their roads, but time will tell if this changes. The Grey Order is a guild in structure, they have ranks, guild houses in the cities and a Master but are not recognised by the city council and have no say in matters of importance. This is due partly to the fact that many still see the order as a group of convicts. Amongst the citizens though it is a different story with the Rangers being hailed as heroes and protectors, and many people would take the word of a Ranger over the word of a city administrator any day. Guild Purpose The Grey Rangers main purpose is to patrol the roads and lands of the Pale, but they have been known to act as scouts for travellers and explorers. The lower ranks are encouraged to join up with groups to learn the land as best they can and to be seen by the people that still exist out there. Recruitment The Grey Rangers of the Pale tend to recruit those that already have a knowledge of tracking, and hunting and this has led to a lot of Hunters joining. The guild offers a sort of deputy status where a hunter can continue their role but also be a representative of the guild without committing to the order fully, this does not allow the hunter to earn the benefits of ranks but does offer them the benefits of being associated to the Ranger, which is often shown by food and a place to sleep. Guild Ranks For those that commit there are five ranks within the guild each offers benefits and Knacks. Limb Jumping Knack (Athletics) The ranger can travel across a forest via the branches of the tree’s, leaping from branch to branch with perfect balance. Camouflage Knack (Stealth) When in forests or marsh the ranger gains a +1 to stealth rolls by utilising the environment around them. Advanced Tracking (Scout) The ranger can track at night with no penalties and gains the ability to track magical and corrupt creatures just by the mental markers left from their passing. Ranging Ranging the Pale or below involves any activity that will take you off the beaten track, adventuring and exploring either location qualifies as ranging.

135 Rank 1 Prerequisites: Perception 2+, Scout 2+ and Survival 2+. Benefits: Access to ranger hut locations and survival caches in the Pale or below. Rank 2 Prerequisite: Commit to the Grey Rangers. Range the Pale or the below for a month, Instinct 3+, Ranged 3+. Benefit: Badge of Office showing you are part of the guild and are held by its laws. You receive the Rangers Blade. Rank 3 Prerequisite: Range the Pale of the below for two months. Scout 3+, Stealth 3+, Lore 3+. Benefit: You gain access to Ranger stores and receive training in the Limb Jumping Knack. Rank 4 Prerequisite: Range the Pale or below for 5 months. Instinct 4+, Ranged 4+, Survival 4+. Benefits: You receive training in the Camouflage Knack and you receive the Rangers Band. Rank 5 Prerequisite: Ranged the Pale or Below for 1 year. Instinct 5, Scout 5, Stealth 5, Survival 5. Benefits: You are taught the Advanced Tracking Knack. You are given High Quality light armour and a High Quality Bow. You can command lower rank rangers.

The Black Iron 138 Explore and Survive The world is a place of cruelty and horror, those with sense stay behind the city walls and accept their fate, produce the food, keep the ores coming in and serve the guilds and their betters. But, there are some among the people who feel the need to venture out, to risk their lives beyond the spires. They try to resurrect a dead land, try to recapture the world before the fall and carry on. Sadly they often are found staked out guts hanging, impaled upon spikes, or if they are blessed dead in the snow, frozen. There are those amongst us that are destined to face the Pale, to walk the tunnels of the Below or the ice of the Above. Those that face the horrors and try to fight back. Every day the ice gets closer and the corrupted howl at our borders, our cities have become breeding grounds for cults of the Blood Lords recruiting those that feel left behind or hopeless. This infection, this creeping pestilence needs to be cut out and burnt, and often it takes those willing few to do the deed. The cities are the safe havens, places with high walls and armed men walking the streets. Administrators and Guilds are making sure that supply lines stay open that even the poorest are fed, and to some real degree this is true, (though few see the machinations behind the walls of the guild houses and the assassinations of dignitaries). But as the years have moved on since the fall, and the Pale has become more and more under the control of the Blood Lords, some of the rot has seeped in. The mass of refugees that flooded the cities brought with them chaos and those that supported the rule of the elves, that harboured resentment to their fellow humans for bringing the world to its icy knees. This resentment and anger grew and became a threat. Travelling through the Last City and the cities below is relatively safe during the day, there are dark alleys where murders may lurk, and the overcrowding does allow the petty thieves to pick their targets easily. But generally, the streets are safe. The merchant and administration districts tend to have larger patrols of better armed and better-trained men, but that is to be expected. After dark, especially in the Last City, it becomes much more dangerous. The cults hold their secret rituals and some, mainly in the slums, will openly hunt out victims or parade their beliefs without fear of retribution. The night is also when the corrupted walk the streets.

139 In the Below the problem of cults and corrupted is not so bad, the families hold a tight rein on who they allow to enter the cities, and this has helped limit the reach of the corrupted and the Blood Lords. Unfortunately, this does not reach as far as the tunnels and Vagrant camps that have been built upon the roads and caves. Reports of strange noises are reported daily of unnatural sounds of chanting coming from deep below, encounters with strange creatures and even rumours of missing people are whispered throughout the cities and have even reached the Last City above. Travel across the Pale There are few ways to travel across the pale if you stick to the roads you can use wheeled vehicles like carts and carriages, mostly the roads stay clear from years of use, but it is not unheard of for roads to become blocked with snow or ice making wheeled vehicles useless. Many travelling traders have fitted sledges to their vehicles, dispensing with wheels altogether. This allows the traders to travel fast across open land, though passing the sun spires suddenly make the vehicle harder to use, at least it is safer. Horses and riding animals can be more straightforward for groups but then comes the extra care needed for the animals when resting, a horse will freeze just as quickly as a person in the ice, extra food needs to be brought and finding food for yourself, and the horse making foraging more difficult and time-consuming. Walking the Pale will take time and journeys will be longer, food will run out, and the dangers of hypothermia, frostbite, snowdrifts and other natural threats will need to be considered. Those that choose to walk can obtain snowshoes which makes travel by foot slightly more accessible and faster as shown opposite. Leagues Per Day* Travel via Roads Snow Ice Mountains Walking** 8 5 4 3 Snowshoes 7 8 7 - Mounts 16 12 10 12 Wheeled 14 5 5 5 Sledge 16 12 10 5 Dog Sledge 14 14 14 8 *League = 3 Miles ** Walking Pace is 30ft per round Travelling the Below The dwarven roads that connect the cities are wide and well made, making travel easy both on foot or using vehicles or mount. Closer to the cities they are patrolled and the main issue many will face will be the gates and gaining access as some cities restrict this to traders, residents or those with passes supplied by either a family or guild. The mines, tunnels and caves lead deep underground, and many have never been explored and can become hazardous the deeper you go, but the lure of ancient treasures and more abandoned dwarven cities is, for many too much of a temptation to not try. Vagrants have discovered roads that will shorten a journey and even secret ways into the cities that bypass the gates, and they will offer their services as guides to those wishing to avoid the scrutiny of the guards. This has led to a few problems, and the many feel the reason why corrupted or cults even exist in the well-guarded cities. Scavengers in the pay of the Guilds or the Mages will venture downward often because of some passage in a dusty tome that speaks of an ancient artefact hidden in a yet to be discovered dwarven city. What they have found has been vast cave systems, more well-built dwarven roads that stretch to unknown locations, narrow mines and tight tunnels. Claims of voices speaking in an unknown language. Constructed chambers filled with pipes that hum and rattle, and the sounds of terrible monsters from deep below are discovered.

The Black Iron 140 On the roads, travel can be made at a good pace, and they are wide enough for wagons to travel two, sometimes three abreast. Most roads are well lit and free of problems, but once you step off these roads, everything changes. Travelling the tunnels can often be hazardous and narrow passages can become more extensive and then disappear to nothing. Keeping track of direction can be difficult without a map or someone with good direction sense. Darkness is absolute except for those chambers that are home to a strange fluorescent fungus, but these are rare. It should go without saying that once you leave the roads that vehicles and mounts will become useless and travel by foot will be the only option, as climbing and manoeuvring through small crevices and areas will not allow for the luxury of transportation. Food and water are not as much of an issue below as they would be above, with natural springs, small creatures and edible fungus easily found as long as you know where to look. But other dangers will exist, cave-ins, unknown poisons or creatures, traps set hundreds of years ago and monsters that crawl from the depths or have wandered the mines and tunnels unaware of the world above. Survival It is the cold that can be the first threat to your survival. Living in the Last City can be cold, though the Sun spires keep most of that at bay, they cannot hold back the wind or the ice storms that can tear through the city and rip those not quick enough in reaching shelter to shreds. Beyond the city, there are the swamps, poisoned forests, corruption and

141 disease, and of course the ice and snow. Lakes and rivers may appear to be solid ground to the ignorant, but one wrong step and you can plunge to an icy death. Knowing how to find food, water and shelter can be the difference between dying in the snow or returning safely. Stamina Your Stamina reflects your endurance and the will to go on. Hunger, thirst, tiredness and some diseases can weaken your stamina, and this will have a knock-on effect when attempting tasks or engaging in combat. For every 3 stamina you are reduced by you will receive a -1 penalty to all task rolls. Resting for 4 hrs. will restore half of the stamina lost, whereas resting for 8 hrs. will restore all lost stamina. Weather The area around the Last City is cold, but it is not cold enough to stop the growing of food and the breeding of livestock. The mountains behind the city provide both shelter and fresh water; many thrive within and around the city reasonably well without much issue. Once you step beyond the Sun spires, everything changes, the cold hits you like a hammer and if you are not prepared, hypothermia can quickly follow. Warm clothing must be worn at all times, and the warmer and better made the clothing the longer it will keep out the cold. When wearing poor quality winter clothing, you will lose 2 stamina points every two hours of travel.

The Black Iron 142 When wearing good quality winter clothing, you will lose 1 stamina point every three hrs.. of travel. When wearing high quality winter clothing, you will lose 1 stamina for every four hours of travel. A fire stone will adjust the above as shown below With a fire stone and wearing poor quality winter clothing, the stamina loss is 1 for every three hours of travel. With a fire stone and good quality winter clothing, the stamina loss is 1 stamina for every four hours of travel. With a fire stone and high-quality winter clothing, the stamina loss is 1 for every five hours of travel. Food and Water Food and water are sparse both above and below ground, but many have learnt to find both in the harshest of environments. Obtaining provisions is a good start for long journeys, but you can only carry so much and rations and water-skins only last so long, and often you can be days away from anywhere that can provide what you need unless you learn to forage. Water – Melting snow and ice can help with keeping your water rations high as long as you have a pot to boil it in. You should drink at least a pint of water per day; otherwise, you will lose two stamina points for every day you do not drink. Food – You must eat at least one meal per day, but you can go for two days without eating before losing any stamina points. If you do not eat for two days, you will lose 1 stamina point per day until you eat again. Foraging Below ground, it is much easier to find water in the form of streams, and underground lakes, those that have made their homes in the mines and tunnels have cultivated many of the fungi that can be found there into food. The cities below still rely upon the farms that have been encouraged It is said that the land beyond the spires is littered with the remains of those that succumbed to the ice, and this is true. As you travel across the pale you will find skeletons frozen in the ice, rigid flags stuck to trees or just rigid and unmoving upon their poles, rusted metal brittle to the touch and the partially eaten remains of travellers frozen, their skin leathery and discoloured. Those that travel the ice soon realise that these remains are markers, warnings of danger and it would be pointless attempting to move or bury these lost souls.

143 to thrive around the Last City above for much of their meat and grains. Those travelling the tunnels will benefit from having someone that knows the best places to find water and the safest fungi to eat, as many of the mushrooms and moulds can be highly poisonous. Issues can also arise as you get deeper underground as many of these tunnels have never been explored, and this can lead to the discovery of new fungi or creatures that could be as edible as they could be deadly. The table below shows modifiers to the Survival roll. Location Food Water Forest -1 -1 Ice Waste -3 -2 Frozen Lake -3 - Marsh -3 -3 Ash Wastes -3 -3 Mountains -2 -2 Tunnels -3 -2 Old Mines -2 -3 Ruins -2 -2 Last City Region -1 -2 The GM should adjust the above table based on the Grittiness of the world they have created, or how desperate the situation is. Sleeping You can go for two days without sleeping, but for every day after that, your stamina is reduced by 2 points. You can go each day with 4 hrs. of sleep, and this will sustain you for a week or more, after which you will need 8 hours of undisturbed, comfortable sleep or start losing 1 stamina per day. Disease Some of the dangers you will face as you explore the pale are diseases; these can take many forms and be caught in many ways. Most common diseases in the pale are those found in rotten food or tainted water, above ground this is a growing threat as more and more rivers, and animals become infected, below it is less common. Bites from animals and undead are another hazard encountered by those exploring the ruins both above and below with the Marshes to the south being a cesspit of infected leeches and marsh wraiths. Every disease has a potency, and it is this number that you will need to equal or exceed with a Body Attribute Test. The purge potion can be used to eradicate the disease in the early stages, but if that is not available a good Necromancer should be able to help. Dangers and Obstacles As you travel through the world, you will encounter threats and obstacles. Below is a list of the most common based on region. Location Threat/Obstacle Rivers and Lakes Thin Ice Coastal Ice Raiders/Thin ice Ruined Cities Cultists/Corrupted Marsh Wraiths/Swamps/ Leeches Open Road Bandits/Cultists Tunnels Corrupted/Cave-ins Mountains Tribals/Cultists Forests Bandits/Corrupted/ Poison Mines Bandits/Corrupted

The Black Iron 144 Corruption When the world fell, ripped apart by the Black Iron something was released, from where no one is sure, but with the corrupted came the corruption. It is thought by many of the Mages of the Black Fort that it was an experiment by the elves that was released when their laboratories were destroyed or the magic that contained whatever foulness they had created faded, but none of these theories have ever been proven. There are two facts that are known the first is that everyone has corruption, this cannot be undone just controlled, and the second is that with the corruption also came the Remnant, what connects the two no one knows or even knows if there is a connection, but the Remnants importance and the fact that many revere them as the last of the gods means that maybe that question will never be answered. Every character begins with one corruption point; this cannot be removed and is part of the DNA of that character. Unfortunately, that one point will become the foundation that corruption can build upon, meaning that you are very susceptible to being corrupted further. Gaining Corruption Unlike diseases, corruption does not have a varying potency that can be resisted, that is not to say it does not have a potency at all or cannot be resisted. Corruption has a persistent potency of 8 across the board, no matter the way it was transferred or encountered. Location There are a number of locations throughout the pale where a miasma of corruption hangs, these pits cannot be seen, or smelt or heard which makes them extremely dangerous. Often the first signs that corruption is present will be in the wildlife, and any foliage, twisted, weeping trees, grass that tears and shatters like glass, animals deformed and rabid are all indicators of corruption. The Sense Corruption Knack can be invaluable when exploring certain locations in the Pale. There are a number of known locations of corruption that are best avoided if possible, and the Grand Library are always appreciative of anyone informing them of more or drawing maps showing there locations. The known locations are: • The Shackles and many of the wrecks that surround the island. • The Great Wood has many patches of corruption within it, the fact the Great Wood is not wholly corrupted is somewhat of a mystery. • The Crimson Citadel has a strong corruption presence; this includes the battlefields and torture gardens that surround it. • The Dead Marsh just oozes corruption. Below ground seems to be less infected from the corruption that festers above, but maybe that is because many that live below are reluctant to delve deeper and search out what can be found in the darkness. Failing a Body Attribute Test check will always give 1 point of temporary corruption to the character and for every point of permanent corruption you have is a -1 penalty to the resistance test. Temporary Corruption Each character can hold up to 5 temporary corruption points, receiving 1 more converts all 5 to 1 permanant corruption point. Temporary corruption can be removed with the right plants like Yardin Root or by a trained Necromancer. Temporary corruption can not be healed by normal means or from rest. Temporary has no physical or mental symptoms and can remain unknown by the carrier until it becomes permanent. The following will offer ways for characters to become inflicted by temporary corruption.

145 Attacks Being attacked by a corrupted monster or carrier of corruption is the fastest way to gain corruption, it is also the only way that it cannot be resisted as the corruption goes directly into the bloodstream. Wearing thick clothing and armour will help lessen this risk as they will protect against tooth and claw. Other Rumours • Drinking the blood of the beast that infected you will cancel out the affects (False) • Chimeer cannot be infected (False) • Breathing in the smoke from a burning corpse will stop corruption (False) • Being bitten a second time by a different carrier will cancel out corruption (False) Items Strangely enough, some items are known to carry corruption, more often than not, these items are magical in nature and are the artefacts of the elves. This has led many to believe that the corruption is in some way magical and linked to the ancient sorceries used by the elves, why they are linked cannot be determined, speculation has been made that the corruption was not deadly to the elves or they had found ways to control or even cure it, this idea that the elves had created or found a cure has led many adventuring parties to their doom as they search ruins under the orders of the Black Fort. These ancient artefacts are very sought after not only by the Mages but by other guilds, in the misguided belief that they will offer power of some kind and the Remnant who wish to collect these items for their own reasons, reasons they have yet to share. When discovering an artefact, it will not be obvious at first if it is corrupted, often the corruption will only manifest once it has been used, activated by the magic held within the item. Once this happens, you can resist using the guidelines above (corruption potency 10). This resistance must be made each time the item is used. The Cure So is there a cure for permanant corruption? Probably yes, but not for the genetic foundation the single point all characters begin with, that will always stay there. The Mages believe that somewhere out there are clues or writings on a cure or at least a defence against corruption this would have been made by the elves in order to protect themselves and at least protect those humans loyal to them. Finding this cure or preventative is one of the great challenges facing the Black Fort, everyday the corruption creeps ever closer to the Last City, everyday victims are brought in from the wastes suffering from various effects caused by corruption. Corruption Effects As your corruption increases, you will start to change both physically and mentally. The table opposite shows this with a list of explanations below. Appearance – The character’s appearance can change in various ways, and this is the decision of the GM and player. It will not be like a Chimeer as these are merged with animals, but more twisted. This change will go in stages with the final stage horrifying to look at with a Fear Rating. Rage – When in a rage, you will attack anyone nearby friend or foe, you cannot be directed and you cannot target one person in particular. Rage will last until you succeed in a Will test, you are dead, or everyone else is dead. Voices – Voices will whisper in your mind, calling for you, telling you to do things against your nature. This will not happen all the time, and the GM should bring them forth during stressful times or whenever they feel appropriate. Language – You will be able to speak, understand and read the ancient language of the Giants, this will be handy as there are a lot of ancient tomes in the library or in the Black Fort needing translation, if only they could keep you lucid long enough.

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147 Permanant Corruption Table Corruption Effect 2 The victim will have moments of dizziness and feeling sick as the corruption starts to change their biology, nothing evident to others. 3 You will start to show physical signs of corruption, this could be yellowed eyes, slight scaling of the skin, black blemishes and so forth. This will have no adverse effects. Positive: Your resistance to poisons and disease will increase by +1 Negative: Your Influence will decrease by 1 4 The physical symptoms become worse and more noticeable, your skin will become greyish, your eyes bloodshot, your veins will thicken and become darker, hair may begin to fall out and speech slurred. Positive: You are now immune to Poison and Disease Negative: Your Influence is reduced by 2 5 The first of the mental symptoms will manifest in a form of rage, you will burst into fits of anger at the slightest provocation, attacking, verbally abusing and spitting at everyone near by friend and foe alike. Positive: Your Fight modified by +1 Negative: To suppress the rage is a Mind Attribute Test vs. 8 6 Your Physical symptoms worsen as you become hunched and begin to exude an overpowering stench. Positive: Your Body increases by 1. Negative: All social interactions are at -3 7 You will start to have physical ticks and verbal outbursts which will be uncontrollable, you begin to hear whispers and strange voices summoning and goading you. You have urges to walk off into the pale, but when asked will have no idea where you are intending to go. Positive: You can now sense other corrupted. Negative: A Mind Attribute Test vs. 10 is needed to stop yourself following the whispers 8 Your skin thickens and your ability to talk is almost gone and what is left of your hair falls out. Entry into the cities will be forbidden and you will be attacked by militia and other people, as they see you for what you are. Positive: You can now see in the dark clearly. Your wounds increase by +2 and your armour is +1. Negative: You will be attacked on sight by ‘civilised’ people, other corrupted can sense you. You have a Fear Rating of 7 9 You will begin to think and talk in an ancient language, no one other than the Blood Lords and the Remnant will be able to understand you. You will be able to read ancient scripts but not be lucid long enough for it to benefit anyone. By this point you are no longer in control of your rage or mental state and only have a basic understanding of self. Negatives: You will burst into rages more often and attack anyone nearby, this requires a Mind Attribute Test vs. 12 to suppress. 10 You are a monster fully corrupted and deformed, the Blood Lords call for you. You will either attack the party or flee into the pale. Negatives: You lost your character and have a Fear Rating of 9.

The Black Iron 148 Combat and Injury Exploring the ruins and dark places above or the tunnels and caves below is a dangerous occupation, and you are going to face things that wish to kill you, other than the weather or disease. Combat is a fact of life, and you will need to be prepared before leaving the relative safety of the cities. Turn Order Before entering combat, a turn order needs to be determined; this should be done before any other roll is made. Initiative Each combatant involved in combat must roll their Initiative, this involves rolling a D6 and adding the initiative derived stat to the result. If two combatants roll the same Initiative, then it is decided in various ways, as shown below. If both Combatants are PCs then the character with the highest skill goes first, or if a success was made with the Iron Die then that wins initiative. If one of the combatants is an NPC, then the PC always goes first. Ranged always goes before Melee if both are prepared. The GM rolls for the NPCs and can opt to roll for the NPCs as a whole if there are more than 4 of them, rolling for each would be time consuming. Weapons Ready – If the party is weapon ready, meaning they already have their weapons drawn and arrows nocked, then they always go first. Surprise – If the party is surprised then the attackers receive a free round of attacks on the party before Initiatives are rolled, once the round has ended Initiative is rolled as normal. Hesitation – By hesitating, you give the opponent the advantage, meaning that for the initiative they get a +2 to their Initiative. Combat Actions During combat, many actions become restrictive as you attempt to avoid injury and flying missiles. Combat is hectic, confusing and fast, and this is reflected in how you can act during it. You can move and act during your turn, and you can react during someone else’s turn. Movement You can move a short distance as a free action, and you can move a long distance by using up all your actions. Distance is measured in Touch, Near, Short and Long: Type Distance Touch Arm’s Length Near 5 Yards Short 25 Yards Long 100 Yards Extreme 200+ Yards Act You can perform one action during your turn; you cannot perform a non-combat action if your last action was a melee attack and you are still engaged with your opponent Attack – This includes either a melee, brawl, throw or ranged attack. These will be gone into more detail later in this section. Use Item – As long as you are not currently engaged in a melee or brawl, you can use your action in order to use an item. Skill – You can choose to use a skill as long as you are not engaged in a melee or brawl action; this can be any skill. Be aware that using a skill means you cannot react to an attack. Healing – You can perform healing on yourself or someone else as long as they are a short distance away, healing will cancel out your react opportunity.

149 Casting – You can cast magic during your action and depending on the type of spell will act either as a melee or ranged attack or as a skill. Reaction – You can also react to the actions of another combatant, as long as you are aware of the action. Often a reaction will be a defensive action such as parry or block, other times it may be a dodge or diving into cover. The reaction is unique in that you can react even if it is not your turn. Defence – You can defend against an attack by parrying, dodging or blocking the attack this is an opposed roll. You would use Melee for a Parry or Shield block and Athletics to dodge or dive into cover. Close Combat Close combat includes any attacks made at Touch range and uses either the Melee or Brawl skills. Attacking Attacking is an opposed roll and includes both melee and brawl. You roll to attack, and the opponent must roll to defend with the highest result winning. Disengaging You can disengage from close combat by stepping back, this will mean that you can no longer attack unless you step back into close combat. Parrying Parrying is done with a weapon, normally a sword or dagger. To parry you make a melee opposed roll vs. the attacker’s melee roll. Shields Shields allow you to block an attack and will add a bonus to the Melee skill when used to block. Using a shield means that you can only carry a singlehanded weapon. In order to use a two-handed weapon or ranged weapon, you must drop the shield. Stealth Attacks In order to perform a stealth attack you must reach your target without being spotted. This is done with a Stealth vs.. Perception opposed roll, if successful the attack is considered a success.

The Black Iron 150 If the stealth roll generates more Levels of Success than the Perception roll of the target, the extra successes count as +1 extra damage done per extra Level of success. This can also happen with a success from the Iron Die. Successful stealth attacks ignore armour. Two Weapon Combat Using a weapon in each hand is possible and will allow for two attack actions per turn, but the offhand attack is at -2 unless you have the Dual Wield Knack. Stance You can choose to use a stance, this will be either defensive or offensive. A defensive stance will increase your Parry by +2 but decrease your attack by -2, whereas an offensive stance will increase your attack by +2 and lower Parry by -2. Ranged Combat The use of Bows and thrown weapons fall under the purview of Ranged Combat. Shooting bows etc. works in the same way as Melee and Fight the only real difference is how the target can react. Thrown weapons and Arrows cannot be parried so the target can either block the attack with a shield or attempt to dodge the attack using Athletics as an opposed roll. A Bow can be nocked as a free action, but a crossbow will take 1 round to load, meaning that when using a crossbow you get to attack every other round. Range Ranges are in feet for thrown weapons and yards for ranged weapons. The range shown is the longest possible range for that weapon to be accurate and cause the amount of damage listed. Ranges beyond that which are listed, accuracy and damage become lower. Modifiers are to the attack roll. Situation Modifier Darkness -1 Fog -1 High Wind -1 Beyond Range -1 High Ground +1 Low Ground -1 Aiming You can make an aimed shot; this will increase your skill by +1 for each round you spend aiming, and if successful, you hit what you aimed for. The target can still attempt to block or dodge the attack. Called Shots A called shot differs from an aimed shot as they are often done instantly without spending time to focus on a target. To make a called shot, you must declare what your target is, and this can be a small item to a specific body part, which will give a modifier. Called shots are great when you don’t have the luxury of time to aim but want to make a precision shot. • Head -2 Penalty • Arm - 2 Penalty • Legs - 1 Penalty • Hand - 3 Penalty Cover With Ranged combat line of site is important and this can be obscured by cover. To shoot at someone in cover applies a penalty to the shot based on the type of cover. • Quarter Cover -1 • Half Cover -2 • Three-Quarters Cover -3 • Full Cover - No Shots Stealth Ranged Many ranged attacks can be described at stealth attacks as often the opponent is not aware they are happening, where the attack is coming from and not prepared to block or avoid the attack. Any