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Category: Steel-Realms
Prestigious Armament Crafters of the Steel Realms
Posted on March 16, 2025 in Steel-Realms
There are and have been many famous Prestigious Armament Crafters making notable Armaments of the Steel Realms. Local crafters will be found among locale information, but truly prestigious ones achieve fame across the entire realms.
Crafter’s Mark: All famous recognized crafter (or their guild/trade/school) have a Prestige Marker that is identifiable.
Black Mother’s Sourlings
Posted on March 12, 2025 in Steel-Realms
The source of the group of creatures most often referred to as the “Black Mother’s Sourlings” are fungal creatures, slimes, and the like. Initially born from a Mother’s Patch using magics of the Black Mother of Shadren faith. Although thought of as part of Creatures of the Dark Lands, many have escaped and proliferated outside of them now.
Part of the Bestiary of the Steel Realms
These creatures are generally found in the dark shadows of the Dark Lands, Underlands, Orrish communities, Nurth communities, and sometimes just dark places in the lands of light.
Black Slimes: These slimes are used to defend Nurth nests, holy places, and the priests and significant champions of the Shadren faith. The most powerful of them wear the creature like a second skin, and it will not harm them by either touch of spores. It enhances their ability to hide and ambush, and can be commanded to ‘leap’ from them to targets by the wearer. they have no odor except when the flesh they touch is burned and their spores are released – often blinding the victim.
Death Fungus: These are used to defend Nurth nests and holy places of the Shadren faith. This fungus appears reddish-grey, often being mistaken for stained stone walls and has no smell whatsoever, regardless of activity. It fluoresces in UV light, making it nearly useless against Ducateon. In places and among forces of mixed Nurth and Orrish, the Nurth have been known to grow these to assist with mutual defense.
Green Slimes: These are used to defend Nurth nests and holy places of the Shadren faith. The slimes are horridly toxic, often causing minor but permanent scars and wounds reducing the targets maximum Health and easily smelled nearby when activated. Some species, such as Grollen, can sometimes detect their faint odor when nearby if they have been in the area for a while.
Shrieker Guardians: The Nurth have given over the Death Shriek Ritual to make the Shrieker to the Orrish through the Shadren faith of the Black Mother.
i20™ Creature Details
Black Slime (a single ‘nest mother can be found defending true nurth communities), Green Slime (on a Major hit, the target suffers 1hp of permanent damage – double for Extraordinary), Shrieker (guardians), Death Fungus (violet).
iCore™ Creature Details
History of the Mathien Plateau
Posted on March 11, 2025 in Steel-Realms
The History of the Mathien Plateau is well documented, but little remembered. The once settled area of The Maithen Plateau is now abandoned, most of its inhabitants died in a cataclysm, and so few remember its chronicle these days.
Chronicle of the Maithen Plateau
Knowledge is broken down by ease of discovery/availability; Any attempt to know more than what's Pervasive will require a reference, source, knowledge, check, or access to someone who can get or provide either of these.
Pervasive Knowledge / Very Easy Difficulty
Information Sources: Mundane Reference | Associated Phenomenology Only | Specific Lore
The History of the Mathien Plateau is well documented, but little remembered. The once settled area of The Maithen Plateau is now abandoned, most of its inhabitants died in a cataclysm, and so few remember its chronicle these days. The Maithen Plateau is in Hopalen Mountains – a spur of the Hawktail Hills – in the Riverdan of Tuflim.
After the battle with the Orrish that tore the area apart, a few attempts were made to reclaim it and rebuild. However, the terror of the Fall of The Dog Fort permeated the ground over which the Orrish spilled so much blood. People had visions and dreams that infected them with the memories of the dying – and so it was abandoned.
Common Knowledge / Easy Difficulty
The area was rich in resources – multiple mines and settlements and even some agriculture. Orrish came many times, and the Watch Vault of Kunlay was built to hold in their incursions.
Uncommon Knowledge / Average Difficulty
“Calamity of White Lake“: When the forces of the Orrish overran The Maithen Plateau settlements in CY 8802 and The Watch Vault of Kunlay, the druids summoned a powerful anima spirit like they did at Spakaya (The Dog Fort), that drew forth all the water in the underground area and White Lake to sweep everything aside. A raging, frothing water steed led the front of a massive wave, drawing it along, and grinding the retreating forces that had overwhelmed Kunlay back into its breach, cracking rocks and sweeping them back into The Underlands.
Those that were left in hiding were rooted out by a combined host of Riverdan soldiers, a platoon of the earl’s archers and mercenaries hired by the Earl of Bar-Innis and knights of County Faer swept through the entire Maithen Plateau area and butchered them, sparing none then went on to do the same at Spakaya.
Scarce Knowledge / Hard Difficulty
There is residual power left in the anima fount the druids opened to scour the plateau.
Champion of Strength and Darkness
Posted on March 7, 2025 in Steel-Realms
The Champions of Strength and Darkness were a normal part of Orrish Fighting Forces and Tactics, these were feared throughout the new heartlands from about CY 7300 to 7600. They were also a core of the massive Orrish army that sweep into the Fallen East, claiming it as The Dark Lands. For a while, these terrorized the central and southern heartlands mainly. Led by “knights” of the Unholy Trio, these long range raiders were composed of the best warriors of the goblins and led by a single Ork of surpassing viciousness and strength. Every now and then, these appear in the south heartlands and Dark Lands, but they are rarely seen any more.
Organized: The thing that differentiated these raiders was that they were highly organized and could easily stand up 1:1 to most soldiers of the realms, and even better as long as the champion was alive and with them. There were attendants to the champion – goblin champions in their own right, and fueled with the fervor of the dark gods favored champion. They often had a rank of goblins that wore the banners upon their backs on poles – as was the custom in the fallen east. These ‘bannerlings’, while common in their physical attributes, were often overcome with frenzy in their service. Their banners provided morale to the entire group, and they often ignored the first blow that may take them down – so strong was their belief in the champion’s favor by the dark gods. There was also often a couple of goblins who had made minor pacts with the dark gods, to aid in countering mystical threats and assist in making proper sacrifices of victims the group caught.
Favored: The champions were known to attract some of the more unique individuals in the dark lands – their favor providing a safe haven for those powerful humans cursed and shunned due to corruption. These would fight with them.
Sun-Bane Protections: The champions wielded magic that could protect them from the sun bane for a few brief moments. They raided remote settlements deep in the lands of light in the daytime, spreading terror and violence. It is believed that these elite units simply were not feasible to keep up for the Orrish, they took training and time. The violent competition to be part of their composition is also thought to be a detriment.
Single Authority: There were never priests among these groups – the elite champions would be competing with command for the group, so they were eventually removed from the raiding bands. These bands were never used against the Lich Lords. The main goblin contingent was anywhere from 20 to 40, rarely above 50 for the most powerful champions.
Evil’s Aid: Sacrificing one of their anointed minions, they could call forth infernal servants for a short time. The hounds of hell were most common.
i20™ Character Details
Although venerating the whole Church of Darkness, their primary focus is as a Paladin of Sunstealer. These are typically orks.
- @2nd typically Great Weapon Style w/Maul (2d6; 9/14/24 base) – blessed by Sun Stealer at higher levels
- @3rd aura of strength (finesse weapon adjustments negated – must use strength) 20′ radius
- +2 shield of shadows (faith)
- 1/2 any light source in 10′; Ma href=”https://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:control-flames”>control flames 120′ (douse only) as a bonus action
- Smite is a darkness smite + force damage (save or -2 strength)
- Any killed with it rise as Shadow in his service
- Shadow can sacrifice itself for protection from daylight!
= Proficiency Bonus in uses – “War Run”: as bonus action – double move, reckless attacks, opportunity attacks get Disadvantage
iCore™ Character Details
The Ruins of the Watch Vault of Kunlay
Posted on March 4, 2025 in Steel-Realms
The The Ruins of the Watch Vault of Kunlay are known to lay somewhere on The Maithen Plateau. This Watch Vault of the Underlands was flooded and sealed up long ago in CY 8802 (see the history of the plateau for more details) by the druids. It has been shut since, and the plateau itself was abandoned soon after. The plateau was scoured and flooded, and the breach the Orrish used was completely choked with the debris and bodies of the war on the plateau. Rumors of the dead spirits still prowling its environs persist.
The north fork of the High Mathien Road runs from Angan Rock, through Treste, and on to the Watch Vault of Kunlay, Blaekpit Mine and finally to Tunnlin Hamlet.
This location has a World Watcher Edifice, though it is smashed and somewhat broken – but is still functional.
Encounters: It has the encounters common to all Places on the Maithean Plateau.
History: Riverdans (History of Dovender Valley and The Dog Fort)
The Sealed Entrance of Kunlay
The entrance to “The Vault” is a typical Orrish tunnel of about 5m high and 7m wide. It is rough-hewn and craggy – though it’s been smoothed by the flooding that sealed up the vault. Above it is a huge crack that collapsed the entrance. A stone slab leans up, engraved in the languages of Gladnorian, Dundarian, Feyloise and Orrish: “Nature’s wrath has sealed the way. Only nature can break the seal without the wrath of a thousand storms.”
