What is the Crown of Iron?
The Crown of Iron is….
- Villagers hiding in fear in their homes while monsters prowl outside.
- Pirates lurking in a massive archipelago preparing to attack an unsuspecting merchant ship.
- An army of mermen ready to strike back against a kingdom of sahuagin.
- Barbarians making bloody offerings on a frozen glacier.
- A charismatic dictator rallying an empire of evil.
- Elves hiding in the last remaining forests lamenting the failures of the past.
- Demons rampaging across the blasted waste of a magical cataclysm.
- An assassin preparing to leap from a castle into a canal after killing the leader of a merchant clan.
- Dwarves mining deep below flinty mountains finding a trove of mithril.
- A vampire lord holding sway over a clan of lizardfolk.
- An adventuring party being hired to clear out a nest of goblins.
The Crown of Iron is all of this and more. It is what you make it and what comes next.
The Role of Adventurers
Adventurers are highly sought professionals who are paid to deal with monsters, obtain priceless artifacts of the ancient age, and perform tasks of extreme heroism,. Hired by villages, lords, merchants, and kings - the adventurer profession is one of prestige and wealth. In all major countries, adventurers are regulated by the requirement of an Adventuring Charter. This charter, that may only be obtained by the ruler of the country or his or her designee, is given to a Company or Guild that operates in a defined area. These charters are infrequently monopolistic. Instead, multiple Companies and Guilds operate in competition with each other. The best adventurers are renown and cost a small fortune to hire. All adventurers aspire to become a household name and revered where their reputation proceeds them.
Thus all adventurers are either a member of a guild or have obtained such incredible wealth to purchase their own Writ. The penalty for operating without an Adventuring Charter (known as Charterless) is summary execution by anyone in authority -including fellow adventurers who do not take kindly to the Charterless.
The Role of Deities
Gods are an important part of everyday life in the Land.
The Land Known to Most People
Most people call the world simply the Land. The Land is roughly divided into three continents. There is the North - a land of frozen wastes, jagged mountains, and constant blizzards of snow and ice. It is the home of barbarian tribes and longship raiders who venture forth on the seas.
Beneath the North is the Northern Sea. It is rough and difficult water that is barely navigable except byfor the best sailors.
The middle kingdoms are generally known as the Middlelands. The Middlelands is an area of kingdoms of men. It is the breadbasket of the Land with bountiful plains, large rivers and small hills. In these feudal Kingdoms the men contend with monsters, raiders and bandits, The Remnant of the Great Elven Kingdom, and trade with Mountain Kingdoms of the Dwarves
The Southern Sea borders the Middlelands to the South and East. It is a great ocean where caravels sail with goods from most countries. In The Widows Teeth - a great archipelago of over a thousand islands pirates prowl and great sea monsters pose an ever-present threat. It is here that the great city of the world - The Free City of Gax holds sway. In Gax the merchant families vie for power both on its island and the world seas.
Finally, Lost Solisis to the South. Here an ancient magical cataclysm destroyed the first great empire. All that remains of that civilization are great pyramids, trackless sands, and rumors of great hordes of demons.