Brunvoldt - Ironlands Notes

An "It is known" statement in the notes below says what is believed by most of humanity in the Ironlands. That does not necessarily mean it is true, but that it is believed to be so by most.

Humanity

  • Society is matrilineal - property is owned by women and familial descent is traced via the female line; apart from the all-female priesthood and nobility, all professions are pursued by all genders
  • Humanity does not practice slavery in the Ironlands, although debts can be paid by indentured servitude; these servants can bring their masters before the law if ill-treated
  • Tame rooks are used to carry messages between most settlements which have large rookeries for the birds
  • Militia and/or town-guards are called 'Wardens' with a prefix referring to their role - e.g. 'Wall-Warden'
  • There are three classes in human society - nobility, commoners and the priesthood - although the growing mercantile class in larger settlements wishes to be represented as a fourth class
    • Nobles
      • Are all female and depending upon their power the titles used are Lady, Countess, Duchess
      • Spouses of nobles, their children (male and female) and female nobles without land, use the honorific prefix 'Ser'; e.g. Ser Agatha, Ser Blaen, etc.
      • The nobles own nearly all land which is rented from them by commoners in a feudal system, so the 'rent' they pay is goods and service, not coin
    • Commoners
      • Are free - i.e. not tied to the land as in some feudal system - and entitled by the law to move where they wish
      • On the edges of Humanity's lands, some commoners have set up communities without Nobles; these are dangerous frontiers though, and their viability is still suspect
    • Priesthood
      • There are many religions (see Religion below) whose power/popularity varies
      • More powerful religions own land
      • Only the Priests of the Sea God, Nethuns, are male, all other religions have Priestesses
      • Priesthood is not hereditary; they can marry and have children, but those children are commoners
      • Many of the Priesthood are given as children into the service of the religions

    The Firstborn
     (natives of the Ironlands that are not affected by the plague that creates the Restless)

  • Elves (aka the Masked) are as in the Ironsworn book; perceived to be hostile to humans, they war amongst themselves over territory in The Deep Wilds, but will unite to repel Human or Varou encroachment
  • Varou are hyena/human hybrids (derived from D&D Gnolls) who claim the Hinterlands as their own; they war on Elves for the Deep Wilds, Humans for the Havens and Giants for the eastern Hinterlands
    • Varou 'laugh' to each other when chasing prey, surrounding foes
    • They are never encountered without their Hyena pets/friends somewhere close by
    • A Varou will try to hold its opponents attention allowing Hyenas to dart in and hamstring the foe
    • Varou have 3 fingers & 1 thumb, hence four Varou is a 'hand'
    • It is known that the Varou eat corpses of all races (even their own) thereby consuming the 'power' of the corpse, but even they will not eat The Broken  ...
  • The Broken are the sightless, degenerate remains of a race that lived in the Ironlands long, long, before humans arrived; they are short, white-skinned and filthy, found throughout the Ironlands, living underground, sometimes in caves in forests, sometimes in ancient subterranean cities
    • It is known that the Draugr are a type of Restless Broken created by dark magics and ancient curses ...
    • It is known that the Broken cannot speak ...
  • Giants - most have learnt the human language and some trade with human settlements; slightly taller than a Mammoth, Giants look like humans, but are at least three times their size, have pale blue skin with hair varying in hues of the same colour; they are nomadic following their Mammoth herds' migrations through the Tempest Hills and eastern Hinterlands

    • The Land

  • The Havens are mostly forested with human settlements analogous to islands in a sea of trees; as Humanity expands, the islands are growing closer together ...
    • The closer one is to a settlement, the less threatening are the woods; an experienced traveller is easily able to determine the time it would take to reach a settlement from this
    • Most roads are regularly patrolled, but beasts often emerge from the deep dark of the woods ...
  • The Restless (as undead are known) have led to salt protected way-houses being maintained in areas where settlements are more than a slow day's journey apart
  • The Barrier Islands are home to many pirates who raid all along the coastline of the Ironlands
  • There are many ancient structures throughout the Ironlands, most ruined, but some - like the Lighthouse of Portwater - have somehow been preserved
    It is known that these structures were created by the ancestors of the Broken ...
  • There are two moons Phobos (fear/panic) and Deimos (dread/terror); there is a new moon (neither moon to be seen in the sky) every two weeks, causing the Restless to rise (see Horrors below)

    • Religion
    There are many churches in the polytheistic religion of the Ironlands that the plague survivors brought with them; most of the names listed below are Etruscan

  • Vanth, guide of the dead (a psychopomp), is very popular given the widespread Restless (as undead are called) and her role guiding the dead on their Final Journey out of the mortal realm; the centre of the religion is Templemount on the coast of the Havens where they meet the Hinterlands
    • Charun, escort to Vanth, is a position of authority for male warrior-priests in Vanth's Church
    • Vanth's holy symbols are the sword and torch
  • Ethausva, goddess of childbirth, motherhood and divination
  • Tuchulcha, mother of horrors is not worshipped, but sacrifices are made to Her to ward against horrors; there are shrines to Her, but who maintains them is unknown ....
  • Cels, goddess of farming, agriculture and animal husbandry
  • Nathum, Goddess of violence,vengeance and fury, the patroness of pirates and bandits
  • Anat, Goddess of war, "the maiden who loves battle, the virgin Goddess of sacrifice, a warrior and archer" (from linked page)
  • Nethuns, God of the sea; the only male god in the pantheon, his masculinity is a personification of the sea's unpredictability and inconstancy
  • Themis, Goddess of Law and Justice
  • Goddess of the Home
  • Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt; nearly every settlement has at least a small shrine to Her; Her few Priestesses travel from settlement to settlement maintaining the shrines, living in the wild as they do

    • Horrors

  • The dead do not rest in the Ironlands; when a human dies their body reanimates at the next new moon - burning a corpse prevents this; the two moons are 'new' every two weeks (see The Land above)
  • The activity of the Restless is related to the ambient temperature; hot temperatures render them into a comatose state, so on most days and occasional warm summer nights they are inactive; on cold days in winter they are active - taken from the Korean Netflix series Kingdom
  • Due to their commonality and people's familiarity with them, 'common' Restless (e.g. Bonewalkers, Sodden, etc.) are Troublesome foes, unless in numbers, when normal pack rules apply
  • Measures to combat the Restless (as the animated dead are called as a collective group)
    • The Restless cannot pass salt or iron, so these are in-built to all human structures
    • It has been found that the sea breezes on the coast have enough salt to make the Restless rare at coastal settlements - rare, not non-existent ... the Sodden (who are very rare) are immune to this
    • Dismembering will temporarily 'kill' the Restless; however they re-assemble and re-animate at the following dusk
    • Preventing a head from rejoining its body will stop re-animation at dusk so nearly all travellers carry at least one wooden folding box to contain a head if necessary
    • Dismemberment (or destruction of a head) by a Priestess of Vanth's sword or the great-hammer of a Charun will 'rest' a Restless ... permanently

    Magic

  • It is known that the magic that suffuses the Ironlands changed the plague that ravaged the Old World and creates the Restless
  • Restless cannot cross a barrier made of (or containing) salt or iron (e.g. iron filings)
  • The Sighted asset lets you know when someone is using Scry to see you; if you know them, you will recognise who is scrying you
    • If both parties have the Scry asset they can talk when they Scry each other

    Economics

  • Coinage is used - 4 tin farthings make a copper penny, 12 copper pennies make a silver shilling and 20 silver shillings make a gold pound
  • Most people rarely see coins - barter is the normal method of exchange
  • Based upon Barry Dickson's excellent Comprehensive Economic System for RPGs 1

    • Other

  • Domesticated Animals: 
    • No horses or cattle were brought to the Ironlands - space on the ships was for people, not big animals; neither were found in the Ironlands, so the bison, mammoths, goats and boar that were there were domesticated
      • Mammoths are used for heavy tasks, building, moving heavy loads in the winter, etc., they have Elf name
      • Bison are used as pack-animals, plough-pullers, etc., they have Troll names
    • The dogs, cats, sheep, chickens and geese that were brought have thrived
    • A few bison will accept riders, but not many, so riding is only really done in important situations; if speed in travel is needed, carts and/or wagons with extra animals are used - the extra animals lessen the load on each, allowing the vehicle to travel for longer

     

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