Several of you have voiced a desire to know more about the world in which Jaggar’s story takes place. I mentioned in Session 0 part 1 that I wasn’t going to do the World Truths worksheet for Jaggar’s world because I wanted to let it form naturally through gameplay–mostly so that I didn’t place any restrictions on how I could interpret the Oracles. Imagine the Oracle that gave me the Ritual not being able to be interpreted that way because I had determined before beginning play that there was no magic in Jaggar’s Ironlands!
I will be using the World Truths Workbook as a base for my descriptions of the world, but I will let the fiction we’ve already played (and perhaps even some that you have not read yet!) inform the details.
I would also like to thank Colin Nash and SGH from the Ironsworn Discord for reaching out with requests and suggestions for world-building and clarity. These kinds of interactions make me want to continue playing this game, writing this character and sharing it with you all. If you have suggestions, please reach out! You can reach out through Twitter, Discord or e-mail; all of which are on the Contact page. Both of these folks also have their own blogs, so head on over and give them a read!
The Old World
The people called Ironlanders have not always dwelled in the Ironlands. They have been there for several generations. I have not yet decided whether they came because of invaders, disease or ecological disaster (the options in the World Truths workbook). I am likely going to be very vague about their distant history until such a time as the fiction dictates more details.
Iron
The Ironlands, as their name suggests, are rich in iron. Veins of this precious ore can be found nearly everywhere. Star-forged iron, what we would call meteoric iron, is prized above all terrestrial ore.
Legacies
Long ago, another civilization inhabited the Ironlands. Nothing remains of them save for ruins dotting the landscape. Their architecture retains a certain artistry that time has not yet fully eroded. Examples of such ruins have already been witnessed in the fiction. On his journey North, Jaggar passed by an ancient beacon tower (session 2). Stonetower, the village in opposition to Jaggar’s own, is named for the ancient, crumbling tower it is built around.
Communities
The Ironlanders have made themselves at home in their new land. Over the generations, villages of various sizes have been constructed. Olgar’s Stand, the home of Jaggar, was once a much smaller village but grew in prominence after the eponymous battle. Other communities, such as Stonetower to the north, eke out a meager existence.
Leaders
Each village has their own leadership, and the form of this leadership varies from village to village. Most leaders, however, can be recognized by the finely crafted cloak that has come to symbolize the mantle of leadership in many communities throughout the Ironlands.
Defense
Since village’s are autonomous, the level of defensive capabilities is determined by the villages themselves. Some village’s choose to maintain a properly trained militia, while others are just farmers and crofters fighting to defend their homes and lands. Some villages, like Stonetower, are driven to raid their neighbors to subsist. Olgar’s Stand, as a prominent settlement, maintains a small militia.
Mysticism/Magic
Magic does exist in the Ironlands, but few know how to wield it. Those that do are sometimes celebrated by their communities and are able to aid them through magical means. Other settlements vilify magic and actively oppress any known, or suspected, users of the arcane arts.
There are dark whispers of malevolent magic users who can twist the power of magic to their own nefarious ends. These are mostly legend, but many wonder what might happen if the legends prove to be true.
Religion
There are gods in the Ironlands, though piety is varied from person to person. No one is expected to adhere to a deity, though often families or communities will value one over the other. Jaggar mostly thinks the gods do not regard him, or the people of the land, but he is known to utter a prayer from time to time.
Firstborn
Humans were not the first, nor were they the only societies to dwell and thrive in the Ironlands. The spread of the Ironlanders drove many of these first folk into hiding, and few Ironlanders now living can claim to have ever seen one. Legends speak of masked forest folk fleet of foot and deadly with bow and arrow, or of shape-shifting creatures dwelling in the swamps of the Flooded Lands, sometimes man, sometimes beast. Still more say that giants once strode across the prairies of the Havens herding their wooly livestock.
Beasts
The beasts of the Ironlands are many, and varied. Creatures from the lowliest squirrel to the mightiest bear, and everything in between, can be found in the forests, fields and mountains of the Ironlands. Hunters and other woodsmen report beasts of immense size and power prowling the depths of the wilderness, but if these beasts exist they avoid human habitations.
Horrors
Stories of beings of darkness persist in the Ironlands, but none living have ever seen them and lived to tell the tale. Legends speak of the risen dead shambling about the catacombs of the Ancient Folk. They are called draugr in the stories of the Ironlands, and are said to be susceptible to iron and fire. If there are other ancient beings of darkness lurking in the world, Ironlanders pray they remain in hiding.
What else about this world would you like to know about this world? Feel free to message me and give me your thoughts and questions!
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