Tag: srlm
The Nanford River Council (of the Riverdans)
Posted on July 25, 2023 in Steel-Realms
The Nanford River Council (of the Riverdans) is a body representing the Riverdan territory. It has not met regularly in a thousand years has nor updated charter any longer – but once it represented a united territory to the rest of Dunstrand and the world. It is named after the Nanford River which wound through the original Dunstrand Vale to the sea. The council was chartered with an end date. Eventually, it was permanently replaced with the Twin River Council.
Its symbol is a red-yellow background, with a blue driving forward 3 white horses – springing from the front of the wave. The Nanford River Council was never officially dissolved after the Nanford Accord around CY 8710.
It is rumored that the original Riverdan representatives of The Nanford River Council went on to form League of the White Lily.
Ruary (the City of Festivals)
Posted on July 25, 2023 in Steel-Realms
Overview: Ruary is a small city compared to the other Merchant Cities. Its stable population is around 20,000 (about the same mount in many “hamlet” communities). Rare hardy grapes on the north side of the river in a valley which catches the sun light and is fed by streams from a lone short peak. Ruard mountain is sacred to Ikribu and Darupet. Pure and cold and used for brewing is the Artesian spring on the mountain named “Pristos”. On the southern side is hops, barley, corn and oats. The major industry is brewing and distilling of mead, wine, and beer – especially beer. When folks speak of northern wine, most of them are shipped out from here, as the aging process and bottling is done in Ruary in traditional manners.
The greatest of the holy place of Scrofa the Boar (of the Wyld Faith), is the artesian Spring of Pristos in Ruary of the North Merchant Cities, on the north side of the Beyne River.
Wheat is mostly brought in from the southern merchant cities – the golden vein of the south. The brewers have been perfecting their craft for thousands of years. There are sacred times, festivals, and such.
PRINZ Family: Alpien
Places
Brothels: The brothels of Ruary are also legendary, and attract many a sailor, merchant, and noble alike.
- Temple to Ezrilus
Ruard’s Anchor
The bridge over the the Beyne River was constructed by the Ducateon. It is a sight to behold. It supports three full lanes of traffic.
Ahead you can see the arched bridge over the Beyne River. Placed in the narrowest span that could be found, it replaced an ancient ferry crossing that Ruary was founded upon. The bridge is a total of 40m from side to side, arched about 20m high in the center. There are massive constructed embankments on both sides that hold each end in place. Getting closer, you can see that although there are guard stations, they are not manned. There seems to be little in the way of security – probably due to the the repeated attempts over thousands of years to affects it – none of which availed themselves. Mount Ruard looms in the distance on the north side, a small mountain just over 1km tall. The smells, sounds, and sights on revelry are unmistakable – and its easy to understand why Ruary is called the City of Festivals.
Important Groups & Individuals
A council made up of the various brew houses rules the city, with the house of Gormont being the oldest and having the greatest privilege.
Multi-Faith: The town’s patron is Ezrilus and Darupet has a strong following as well, in addition to churches for Ikribu and a shrine to the light-bringers in general and almost every other faith has a shrine presence in Ruary. In some unspoken sense, Ruary is a sort-of neutral ground for the faith’s – though no formal relations are conducted between them here.
- The Spring of Pristos is guarded day and night by a Briarwood that surrounds it and is the highest holy place of Scrofa the Boar.
Noble Families
Gormont:
Military Strength and Brotherhoods
Each house provides its own militia to guard its product, and House Gormont is paid a stipend by each to have a naval presence and a formal Merchant City garrison – for protection of the town in general. The Harbormaster Office controls the docks and is allied with the breweries, coopers, and Glassblowers and Bottlers Guild of Ruary– serving as their militia as well.
Home of Baleguard
The Breweries of Ruary
Oh, the breweries of Ruary are legendary. From flat (often called a ‘stoic ale’) to bubbly (carbonated)
Cults, Sects, and Orders of Sunstealer (Tenebraeth; Soul of Darkness)
Posted on July 18, 2023 in Steel-Realms
Soul of Darkness; “Tenebraeth”
– This is the dominant order of the faith. It has common Group/Institution elements.
Cleric, Paladin – These are archetypes dedicated to serving and representing the faith in iconic roles as part of their function; Others may be available as Followers at GM discretion – serving as institutional officers, community officers, or simply through Conviction and shared liturgical beliefs.
The Common Face of Faith: Like most Faiths of the Steel Realms, there may be a multitude of denominations that make up Cults, Orders and Sects of Sunstealer. These share the common Workings of Faith, promoting worship to prove the truth of the Divine Principal's ideals and tenets, and allow Followers a means to prove worthy to wield power and secure a place in the promised afterlife. Sunstealer has a Dominant Presentation of their faith, clergy, and institutions that the folk of the realms look to.
Options for PC’s in the Steel Realms
i20™ Faith Details
Clerics in service to the faith have the callings (subclasses) of Death, War, and Trickery; Others may be available at GM discretion or through other cults, sect, or orders. Paladins in service to the faith have the callings (subclasses) of Vengeance; Others may be available at GM discretion or through other cults, sect, or orders.
iCore™ Faith Details
He is known by many names, including that of “Shuustak” by the more savage and primitive creatures like Lizardfolk and Troglodytes.
Tenebraeth the The Dream Thief
The most common sub sect or cult of Sunstealer is Tenebraeth. Some say it is a child of his, other an avatar, some a fiend or spirit bound to the god. It is even said that this is just a made up name, so that those seeking to gain power from it do not have to use his name among the Dark Trinity. Regardless of its specific manifestation, it is synonymous with the god. He is the stealer of dreams, and despoiler of rest. Tenebraeth replaces dreams with nightmare, and traps those that he/it curses in a mind-prison of their own thoughts. There is no way to summon Tenebraeth in the light – the light of truth destroys the dark thoughts that surround Tenebraeth.
Through corrupted elemental magics, captured Stone Colossi (giants), and Orrish breeding and unholy sacrifices by priests of Sun Stealer, there are more of the Twisted Colossi (formorians) than there should be in the Dark Lands.
Lilylands of Bar-Innis/Dunstrand)
Posted on July 11, 2023 in Steel-Realms
The Lilylands (Lily Lands, “Lilyalndz”) of Dunstrand are mostly the lands bordering Dwindor Swamp and The Black Coast – the Earldom of Bar-Innis in the south and the earldom of Richfield to the north. More than anything, they share a culture and a way of life that centers around a lot of agriculture and resources they pull from Dwindor Swamp. They are named after the spring white lily bloom in Dwindor, Scar Flow, and along the Black Shore coast (as well as Calibans Slurry).
The real events that bind the Lily Lands together are the annual festivals.
Nanford River of Dunstrand
Posted on July 3, 2023 in Steel-Realms
The Nanford River flows through the original Vale of Dunstrand. From the east heights of the T’Yendi Hills, it flows a normal color, carrying silt and minerals down from the heights. Originally, it met the mountains and flowed south along what is now The Black Shore, into the Loamwold Cut (now Hoolip Coast), where it flowed out to the sea into ColdStream Inlet (now Coldstream Channel). When the shelf on which the Aragratep Chain of mountains sank in a cataclysm, Westmarch sank and Scar Flow took its place. Dwindor Swamp was created and it created a muddy delta and The Black Shore.
Defining Moment: All of the Riverdans were devastated when, in CY 7950-7986, Nanford River changed course during the Storm Times and Dwindor Swamp became a living things itself and gained the appellation of “Mighty Dwindor”.
The headwaters of this river some from two spurs – one in Broken Feather Hills to the north, and the Valewall Hills to the south.
The Nanford Accord was named after the river, which divided the duchy into trade zones and governed transport.