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Titans of War

2025-06-25T22:47:28Z

HOUND:

I was sitting on my golem's shoulder when I noticed the ogre approaching me. I had been watching the rising dawn after finishing repairs on Duke, the iron golem I had been piloting for months. The repairs this time around had been simple, just a wire replacement, a nasty fireball had fried some of the connection in Duke's right arm. His cover plate was still open and I had been periodically rechecking my work with the kind of fastidious paranoia that comes with relying on this iron titan to survive. The wires were, of course, as good as they could get. Even in the event the cables linking the mana battery to the locomotion rune was somehow severed, the grooves created by the power inscription could still transport the mana, if at a severe reduction. I had heard, though never had seen myself, that early golems did not use wires or even mana batteries. Just extremely rare mana charged crystals and runes fed by carved inscriptions to direct the flow of mana. It did not take long for the engineers from the Order of Brass to discover that using bronze conductors encased in insulated cotton was far more power efficient and that using mana batteries let a golem operate for far cheaper. It had always struck me as amusing how simple mechanical innovations for what was the pinnacle of the ongoing wars defensive line had truly been. Swap the wild mana crystal with a rechargeable mana battery, encase the power line grooves with wires, drill in some grounds and voila, you turned the production that once cost ten years wage for the average man to only one year. Now the issue was purely logistical, not performance, yet before I could muse further the ogre had finally arrived.

I had purposefully moved away from defense bastion, this section of the trench line was well protected, housing one of the valued mana cannons, a munitions depot, and a forward post for command if our sector went hot. The recent skirmish had been a minor one, likely a probe by the elves, further down the hilltop where I had positioned my golem on to do my repairs I could see soldiers still milling about the trench line, resupplying ammo and performing routine checks. The skirmish had been minor only because a lord had been in the area, I was not sure which, but he had cut off the elven forces before they could even reach the trench line. Whatever stragglers had made it past were swiftly gunned down, but an elven mage had gotten within range to cast several spells, most of which Duke had taken the brunt of.

"Esteemed engineer Cormac of the Order of Brass!" Bellowed the ogre in a tone so loud and jovial I had to stop myself from shrinking back. We were almost eye level given I hadn't moved from my perch on Duke's shoulder. Being a goblin I could barely reach the man's chest if you counted my ears, ogres are massive buggers. The smiling man gestured back where he had come, towards the distant artillery piece further up the hill. "Me and the boys were wondering if you could give us a hand, our cannon seems to be suffering a few mechanical problems. Think you could take a look for us?" I responded bluntly, mainly because I did not want to get up after just finishing repairs on Duke. "I have never touched a mana cannon in my life, I have no training for repairing one."

He just stared at me with a small smile, waiting in silence. After nearly half a minute passed I sighed, "Fine... show me where it is." I slid off of Duke's shoulder. Despite my annoyance I took a liking to the ogre already, his uniform marked him as a battle mage so he was either a fraternal brother of the artillery men or a member of the same order. Compared to myself, I wore only a simple bronze jumpsuit made of insulated cloth, my rank displayed on my right breast as a member of brass order's golemancers. The ogre was in full armor, layered with plate and equipped with a shield and spear, all of which was thrumming faintly with magic. I glanced at the runes enchanting his equipment out of idle curiosity as the man continued explaining the cannons problem. "The power draw is increasing with every shot, we're having to replace the battery more often and it seems to be struggling to make its rotation left, we thought it merely needed routine maintenance but our usual technician was redeployed to the sector west of here." I frowned, not at what he was describing, I was not even listening. I was looking at his runes and noting his armor had a travel rune and his shield had a power rune on it, both were vastly different from the standard choice for anyone on the frontline.

He continued describing more and more concerns with the cannon and I continued to pretend to listen as I pondered why his runes were so atypical. I was not trying to be rude, but only another goblin would understand why listening to people describe the problem for a device was largely meaningless. What they thought was the problem and what the problem actually was were generally mutually exclusive. When we finally reached the mana cannon the other ogres were milling around. A quick glance across the ranks told me that they all belonged to the same order, if only because of their familial nature with each other. I did not spot any icons but that was hardly unusual. Ogres were always sorting themselves into fraternities, clubs, and different orders, it would be more unusual if they were not within the same group. The mana cannon was built to be operated solely by ogres, largely due to the nature of the machine itself and for the fact the controls, munitions, and power banks required the size and magical ability only an ogre had. This made artillery teams close knit by nature.

The cannon itself was a massive barrel welded to an even more massive rotating platform that could be turned in a set of gears and cogs. The system itself had several hydraulics built into the platform to sustain the cannons recoil while the rotation via brute force from multiple ogres allowed them to quickly adjust the cannons arc and trajectory at will. The 'gunner' seat consisted of a cushioned chair fit for an ogre and a desk-like stand that contained a spellbook, multiple maps of varying age and quality, and several ink pots, quills, and measuring tools. While not attached to the platform but no less important was the spotters nest, which was several telescopes on stands, a desk full of maps identical to the gunners, and the same assortment of writing materials and measuring tools. Out of sight beneath the platform and directly in the center of the cannon were massive cables that connected to a battery bank behind the cannons. The mana batteries here were the size of my entire body and charged on the ambient mana generated by the collected ogres. This many of them in such proximity made the natural excess mana they exuded compounded on each other. Several of them merely standing near the artillery battery was enough to visibly watch the power meter begin charging. More so when they began casting the right spells.

I was greeted with hearty cheers and waves and a few raised drinks and adulation so genuine they would sounded mocking if repeated. The ogre who had brought me greeted one of his fellows who was wearing similar armor, the pair standing out compared to the other ogres who wore jumpsuits or utility clothes like my own. What must have been the gunner approached me as I walked towards the mana cannon to begin my inspection. "Greetings, engineer Cormac, I am gunner Roque, of the Order of Star Snipers." He punctuated his introduction with a bow and a gesture to his fellows, to show deference and that he was speaking for all of them. "I shall leave you to it, but know that if you have questions I am at your service." He continued, he must have worked with goblins enough to know that trying to help would simply be getting in the way. That drew a small smile that surely he noticed, though he said nothing as I placed my hand on the side of the cannon.

This was always a process that onlooks would inevitably ask about. I cannot remember how many times I have been personally asked how goblins understand machines as readily as we do. Every single time I answer the same way my father taught, a method that was echoed by my mother, my grandfather, my grandmother, my great grandmother, and not doubt my great grandfather if he had been alive when I was young. We were always taught to answer, "We just do." It was simple, straight forward, and more importantly had this twinge of emotion that I always likened to the phrase 'I have faith.' It was simply not something one could dissect or argue against in good faith. In truth, the process was ... difficult to put into words. The moment my hand touched the side of the mana cannon I brought my other hand to knock the metal while pressing my ear against the still faintly warm steel. I both heard the faint ring and felt the equally faint vibrations, then, as if a voice was speaking to me without words I began to understand the problem. In the last maintenance cycle the technician had either forgotten or ignored the anterior belt that was starting to dry out during heavy fire cycles due to the generated heat, this was making the left rotation slow with each movement but that was a trifling concern to the power problem. The gunner must have been running the cannon in 'maniple' when he knew damn well he was not supposed to.

When mana cannons were first introduced they were slow to fire, heavy emplacements that required twice the crew they do now. It was dangerous to use for more than firing upon incoming hordes due to how far away the cannon actually was from the front lines. It did not, however, take much time for the ogres who used said cannons to figure how to improve their usage. The use of scopes, signal flares, and further improvements through communications with comms crystal suddenly made them as effective and lethal as golems would eventually become. Then the more experienced gunners began experimenting with different modifications and firing methods. Maniple was one such evolution, the method created a three shot barrage by overheating the brass spools and easing the firing pin in incrementally harder pulls. This caused the first shot fired to be the weakest, the second to be slightly stronger, and the third shot to explode with twice the radius of a standard blast. The problem with this method is mana is incredibly dangerous to pool in such a way, the tax on the machine is so great that even if every gunner learns to use the maniple method they are warned to only use it during heavy engagements. Without even thinking of what I was doing I lowered myself to one knee, pulled my wrench from my toolbelt, and tapped it against the metal floor where I knew the nearest power cable was. It was the same sensation, less words and more of a guiding instinct that spoke without saying anything. The gunner had been practicing the maniple method because the recent skirmishes were light and if the cannon went down from spooling the mana too long it would not compromise the trench line. He had made a mistake, my gut instinct said, just long enough to fry the connections between the batteries. Not enough to wreck the cannon or cause a rebound blast but enough to cause the power draw to increase further with every proceeding shot as the wire wore down further.

I lifted my ear from the steel and clacked my wrench against where my ear had been, my other hand still pressed firmly to the cannon. The vibrations and noise echoed loudly before confirmation came, the main power cable needed a full replacement and the anterior belt needed to be carefully but utterly drenched into oil during rotation. As for the gunner, I fell back on my training. I knew he had made a mistake, he knew he had made a mistake, if it had been a technician of another race he would be getting an earful, but just as my family had taught me never to bother explaining our understanding, they also drilled into me never to assign blame or accuse someone of being a liar even if the machine told you exactly what they had done wrong. Instead, ask them leading questions and give them an out.

"Looks like the last tech did not give enough oil to the anter-... The smaller belt below that access panel." I pointed my wrench to said panel, shaping my words to ignore the fact the technician had forgotten entirely to oil the belt at all. "You will need to drench it while turning it so the belt rotates and you can thoroughly infuse every inch of it, just do it slow." The gunner nodded, but remained silent, if he had worked with goblins he knew I was unlikely to chew him out over trying to practice using the maniple method, but it did not take a genius to realize he was worried I would report him. "The power cable to the main cell casings is also severely frayed, it will need replacement. Likely just wear and tear." Roque nodded but I saw his eyes glance away in embarrassment, because now he was sure I knew what he had done and that I was going to cover for him. "I can make the repairs now, if your usual engineer is away, but I will need two favors from you."

Roque met my gaze again, quashing his embarrassment as he said, "Of course. Engineer Cormac, we are always grateful for the aid of a skilled hand such as yours."

Ancient Patrol

2024-05-13T23:42:15Z

HOUND:

When the war had first greeted the united empires of the known world at the hands of the elves, life began to change rapidly for everyone. War created a necessity for innovation, a churning industry of materials and weaponry determined by logistical masters to move across the world by train to be deployed by the combined might of the empire and federation on the new front lines. Plans far vaster and more complicated than any one man could truly grasp darkened the minds of men and with it, the common man paid in blood. War had changed. Centuries of peace had made men forget the depravity of conflict and it was only now that they were forced to remember.

Sergeant Major Donovan Barrister was a part of the first legion, a young man at the time, who had been dispatched after the first elven incursion. Until that point in his life, he had been little more than a peacekeeper, trading blows and bullets with tribal raiders, vicious outlaws, and dangerous wildlife that were a threat to the Onokrin empire. At the time he was only a corporal, hastily redeployed beyond empire territory and into the southern line of their federation allies. It was there that he got his first taste of war.
In the early days the level of black hatred that the elves carried was not quite understood. Even gnolls and minotaurs, renowned for their vicious and bloody-minded natures were appalled by the careless disregard for life that elves had, even for their own. Again and again, week by week, the elves of the Blood Rose Compact would send hordes of their own into the killing fields. They would charge into gun lines, mowed down by the thousands, and still they would never change their tactics. In those frantic early days, the empire and federation had no artillery support, no golems, and no specialized legions, they assembled lines of dug-in riflemen and killed as many of the charging monsters as they could before the skirmish devolved into vicious and bloody melee.

Elves did not care for their losses, their screaming maddened berserkers took bloodthirsty glee in melee. Supernaturally quick, almost graceful, like panthers dancing across bloodied ground with vicious mocking grins and strange magic blades slicing through the wind. Donovan, still a corporal, was one of the few men who survived and thrived upon this killing field. His rifle was the last thing many elves never saw before a bullet felled them, the axe he carried stained with blood at the end of every engagement. It was a trial by fire and men died in droves, those who lived became hardened veterans of war, renowned as the first legionnaires who held the line while nobles and bureaucrats struggled to keep pace with the needs of conflict.

Donovan was not anyone special, he rose through the ranks quietly for his accomplishments and never quite attained the rank of lord that those vaunted few did in the early days of heroes. His service was something he always saw as duty, he believed that it was necessary because without men like him doing the bloody work, then his wife, his daughter, and his family would be ground up in the engines of war. Months became years, years became decades. The front lines grew in scale and perfection, and mobilized squads became specialized legions, each one working in concert with others to maintain the line. Elven hordes grew larger with time, despite their casualties, a worrying note that drove the defenders to develop better methods of killing. Mana-based artillery cannons, mechanized golem production, and crank guns capable of firing as many bullets in a minute as a squad of men armed with bolt-action rifles could. Killing became a science and an art.

Sergeant Major Donovan had lived with this duty, this burden, even as his hair grew gray and his strength slowly waned. He was human after all and though skilled he was not immune to the icy hands of death and time. Every year he told himself that it would be his last, every friend he buried would be the final one, and that every single month he would finally make things right with the daughter who was robbed of her father because duty demanded it. Every year without fail, he would sign up for another tour, another year of battle. He was not even sure why he did it, not fully at least, but eventually, the time came when he was forced to make a choice.

It had been decades of the federation and empire on the defensive, the talk of making a counter-offensive was always in the air. The idea was that the combined might of the empire would finally push into elven territory and put an end to the conflict once and for all. It was a pipe dream, of course, as even the combined might of both kingdoms still managed only to hold the line by a thin margin. Any legion heading into enemy territory without fire support, artillery, or proper defenses would be a suicide mission. Elves held sway in the forests where the empire had not burnt it to cinders and nobody, not even the most veteran of scouts, lived long on patrol for incoming raids. Only now, decades later and assured of their defenses did the idea come to fruition.

A volunteer patrol would travel south, deep into elven territory, discover what they could and scout where possible and if capable hit sensitive or critical elven holdings. This legion dubbed the Ancient Patrol, was volunteer and would only accept men past the age of fifty who had children to carry on their family name. There was no pretending, no hidden lies, every soldier was told that those part of this legion would likely be killed. The simplicity of the plan was to learn what they could and send their fastest runners back with that information while the patrol continued. Donovan was not going to volunteer, at least not originally, he was going to retire then and there and return to his family for good. He was going to make amends, live out his golden years, and fade away.

At least, that had been the plan.

The terrible dilemma of a soldier is that he wants to preserve his nation, his comrades, and himself, and if he is a man of any worth it is done in that order. When a soldier and his enemy both have this creed they tend to resolve who is correct rather violently. Donovan had served for a great many decades by this point and this conflict of interests had seen many men buried in the wake of their campaigns and defensive actions. Those that remained he had felt a debt to, for the lives that he had saved and those who safeguarded his own.

One such man had been his longest cohort, a lagus by the name of Lannister. Lannister had been there during the first battle against the elves, back then nothing more than another rifleman among a legion of them. Like most of his kind, Lannister was a psion, his specialty telekinetics, a knack that had saved Donovan twice over that first day through the use of psychic barriers to block oncoming fire. Donovan returned the favor a day later when both had been redeployed as emergency relief for a border hold that the elves had ambushed in a misdirection assault. The tone and horror of war, when they came upon the holds defenders, had nearly driven all of the more psychically attuned soldiers into states of delirium.

The horrors of what elves were willing to do, the glee and ecstasy that they took in suffering, need not be repeated nor thought of. Donovan had nearly doubled over himself when Lannister lost control of his psychic power after witnessing the gutted remains of civilians strung up as bloodied trophies. Thankfully, blunted as his mind was, Donovan managed to resist the psychic backlash and pull himself away from passing out before putting Lannister into blissful unconsciousness with a swift strike to the skull from the butt of his rifle. Despite Lannister nearly being two feet taller than him and weighing as much as a horse Donovan dragged him away from the carnage even as other psions began to succumb. He took the man to one of the hastily erected medical tents and stayed with him until he awoke. From that point forward they had become like brothers.

They made an excellent team, deployed often in the same fields with other growing veterans of the first conflicts. Their effectiveness led to their rise in the ranks and with it a growing respect from various lords and field marshals. Donovan himself never really stood out despite this, he was rather average in height, one of the few humans who was entirely pure and lacking in any form of chimeric change. Middling height and increasingly gray hair with a potbelly from extensive nights spent drinking on leave, Donovan’s only distinctive quality was his styled goatee, soft-spoken nature, and the purity of his human appearance. Lannister was equally normal, for his race at least, short for a lagus at only a mere towering seven feet in height with a brown pelt of fur. The appearance of the lagus took some getting used to, Donovan was used to orcs, goblins, and even the hulking forms of ogres from his upbringing, but beast folk took some getting used to. Lannister’s comparatively huge height and his rabbit-like features and fur-covered body still, even decades later, put Donovan off despite how close they had become. He privately supposed that it was a little too different compared to the other races from his homeland.

Donovan had, up until that point, never met a male lagus until meeting Lannister. Only over several months when they had first come to know each other did Lannister slowly reveal why male lagus were so rare and that his position on the front lines was itself considered a crime by his people. Both men had come from similar backgrounds, growing up in poor families and going into the military the moment they came of age. Where they differed was the reason, with Donovan doing it out of a sense of duty and Lannister to escape the unfortunate circumstance of his birth. What that meant had come slowly over the years, the reserved nature of Lannister making it for a slow drip feed of information. Lannister had told Donovan that his people did not produce males often, in fact, it was estimated that for every hundred females born a single male was.

At first, Donovan thought that must have been paradise, he knew very little about the federation or even the Lagus except for Lannister, he must have a pick of women. As it turns out Lannister explained that men were little more than bargaining chips and trade material. Few that they were, fewer were even allowed to leave their clan holdings due to how valuable males became in a society dominated by women. As Lannister came from an extremely poor clan it was very likely he would be traded off to a wealthier clan to enrich his family. Seeking to escape this inevitable fate Lannister had joined the military, one of the few ways a male lagus could escape being little more than a prisoner. As a result, after a decade of knowing the reserved giant, Lannister told him the military was his family and he saw Donovan as his first and most valued brother.

It was for this reason when Donovan had seen Lannister had volunteered for the ancient patrol that he signed up as well, knowing what it meant and knowing he had to be there for him. In a way, Donovan half believed they would return, that the patrol would succeed in their mission and return victorious. He had reasoned with himself that he still had time, that when he got back he would return to his wife and daughter and make amends for his mistakes as a father. Just like every other time it was one last deployment and it would all be over. His debt to Lannister had to be repaid, not that Donovan ever asked if Lannister wanted him there, they did not speak when they met during preparation. Few people did, it was a rather solemn affair among veteran soldiers who sought neither glory nor accolades. Every man on the ancient patrol knew why he was there; they did not need fanfare.

The ancient patrol was two hundred men strong, hardly a legion as they later came to be known but suitable for a scouting vanguard and recon patrol. Of them, they had members from the federation and the empire, a hundred strong riflemen equipped with their choice of rifle, revolver, and melee weapon. A quarter more were from the ogre mage legions, hulking giants clad in steel from sabaton to helmet and brimming with enough magical power to level a small mountain. Of them, only three were rosaria, the magical healers considered more important than any other soldier on the field, whose chanted words healed entire squads of their wounds in seconds. With them were only six psions, Lannister included, all lagus, and all lightly equipped scouts assigned to protect the rosaria when not scouting ahead. The rest were a random assortment of soldiers from different companies and legions that brought their own specialized tools. Only four of them stood out, a pair of goblins and rodentfolk, barely half of Donovan’s height and each piloting a golem suit.

Donovan did not know enough about golems to determine what exactly they were but he had seen them in action, twin gun-armed magical creatures of metal, stone, or brass that required a pilot within to direct their awesome might. This time Donovan was given a full breakdown of their abilities by the pilots themselves as he had been chosen as company commander. Each was equipped with an ancient mana cell, repair automatons made of brass, mana barriers, and twin autocannons spewing magical globs of explosive fireballs. The pilots themselves were all brothers by blood or law and were veteran pilots with one boasting he was with the first brass legion deployed on the front lines. Donovan knew it would not be enough for them to succeed but a part of him pondered if everyone else had come to the same conclusion.

Prep and assembly were quick, ordered, and ready before first light even cracked over the horizon. Donovan did not want any form of fanfare or parade, to him it felt insulting knowing they were being sent to their deaths and the thought of some grinning noble who had never seen combat preening about it made him want to shoot everyone involved who put this into motion. They still drew attention as they departed past the entrenchments, bunkers, and artillery lines, but it was quiet. Few spoke and by the grace of the gods, nobody tried to applaud them as they filed past. The only sound was the morning birds singing and the heavy stomps of steel boots and the towering twelve-foot golems. The only thing that stuck out to Donovan was the way people stared, solemn and quiet, watching them while they lowered the bridges across the trenches and entered the killing fields. Their faces were more unsettling than the blasted hellscape of ash and bones that made up the no man’s land between the front and the elven-controlled forests.

As they fell into marching formation Donovan took his place at the center, directly in front of the three rosaria and among the scouts. Not for the first time in his life he felt short, something that amused him enough for a half smile while he glanced between the lagus and ogres around him and guessed the shortest was seven feet. The short one was Lannister of course, the other lagus were all women and therefore much larger and imposing. Lannister caught Donovan’s smile and for a moment it was returned, an inexplicable moment of camaraderie between them before the patrol reached the edges of the killing fields and hit the burnt-out tree lines. From here they were now entering contested territory, the burned trees provided little cover and even less protection, but this worked to his company’s advantage. Elves were one of the few races innately capable of magic, something he had only ever seen in salamanders before. Most elves took to the druidic path, manipulating plants into monsters to use in battle, but plenty took to the art of necromancy. It made the prospect of walking into the forest a dangerous one, an ambush could be anywhere from the trees to bodies buried below them ready to claw themselves free.

Once they reached the tree line past the ashes what little advantage they had would be gone, he wagered the patrol would be discovered quickly but hoped that the elves would actually set up an ambush, lure them in so to speak. Their tactics and methods were never intelligent nor planned but in his years of fighting he noted one exploitable trend that many commanders made use of. Elves were pure sadists, the only time they would ever use strategy was if it could inflict greater suffering, mental or physical. They could not help themselves in that regard and it was the only place they displayed feral cunning. For that reason, Donovan wagered that the elves would realize their plan to scout the area out and potentially try to hit key locations. Whether they did or not he could not say but he was betting that they would be shown something, enough to think they had valuable information. Even if it was not real they had to see enough to be given hope. As long as they did not turn back, as long as their spirits grew with their perceived success, the main force of elves would continue to wait in ambush in the hopes of inflicting as much agony as possible when Donovan and his men died in agony with their knowledge buried.

He reasoned that, given the lack of forward-thinking, it was probable that the elves would simply show them what made up their towns or industry, perhaps even let them be attacked and destroyed in service of harvesting their anguish when they came to kill them to the man. It was predictable, a fact that made Donovan sigh. Lannister noticed but said nothing, few spoke at all really. If asked any soldier would have said they were silent to not give away their position despite the fact the stomping golems and armor-clad mages made it a moot point. The truth was that nobody had much to say.

Once they reached the intact forest the company spread out to make up for the diminished lines of sight, organized in groups of four and always within eyesight of those in front of and behind them. Elves were not known for subtlety, but dangerous predators might lurk in these woods and it kept a man alive to be careful. It did not take long for them to start seeing signs of elven life. Donovan had heard that the southern villages that once bordered these areas had been killed off by the elves. Rumors abounded however that some, those who had surrendered, still lived on under oppressive elven rule. He thought of these more and more as subtle clues built over time. Some claimed that these slaves were weaved into something else, that the magical art of weaving flesh transformed them into creatures best never spoken of, but this was only rumors. Still, as the signs of life grew, Donovan could not help but search his memory for every rumor he had once heard long ago.

Small gardens hidden in groves, ornaments of some significance built to hide among the trees, and pathways that could not be mere animal trails. The ogres rumbled of magic in the air, not of runes and steel but animus that they could not easily bend. Some even chuckled, calling it primitive and pathetic. Donovan was not so sure, a glance shared with Lannister confirmed his suspicion. The trails and signs were likely alarms, magical wards, and potentially even traps. The trails must have been between villages, perhaps elves and their plant-like abominations did not leave tracks. Perhaps they walked single file, hundreds of soldiers stepping into the same set of footprints, gnoll tribals did that to disguise how many their war parties numbered. So much was left up in the air and Donovan could only privately scowl at how unprepared they were walking into enemy territory with no intel.

When the first report from forward scouts noted they arrived at an elven town their immediate reaction was to form a defensive line as quietly as possible, keeping the ogres and golems back to avoid making noise and rubbing oil upon their iron and steel to avoid even the chance that a glint from sunlight would reveal their position. The first town contained just what Donovan had feared, civilian targets. In a way he had thought that perhaps they merely hit the infrastructure and spare the non-combatants, but orders contradicted this. The patrol was commanded to destroy any town they came across, regardless of who or what it was. Donovan wished it would have been a hard choice, that he might have hesitated when his men looked at him for orders. Part of him wondered what he was doing but most of him knew that if he lived through this, he would regret his choice for the rest of his life.

He ordered the attack, the golems stomping towards the front and breaching the tree line before opening with a salvo of fireballs from their mounted mana-cannons. The buildings were tree-like, appearing like massive stumps hollowed out and made into quaint little homes. They burned easily and well. What passed for defenders, as they seemed unprotected by their elven masters, were mowed down by rifle fire. Most tried to flee and none managed to escape as far as Donovan saw. It was grim work, work that nearly everyone knew was cruel if not outright evil, but they carried out their orders because they were all good soldiers who understood why they had to. The monstrous appearance of these people made Donovan's skin crawl and at least gave small comfort to his work. Donovan made to attempt to study or see what his patrol was destroying, buildings were torched without being searched, structures razed, and no prisoners taken. Only one person caused a problem during it all. An orc who laughed as he shot a fleeing man in the back, taking bloody glee in his work. Donovan ordered him to stop laughing and the orc asked why. Donovan pulled his revolver and shot him dead on the spot. Nobody said anything, Lannister gave an approving nod and the slaughter continued. Nobody would make light of what they were doing under Donovan’s watch even if they were killing the enemy. Some lines were not to be crossed. The next four towns proved as simple as the first one. Their bloody swathe did not stop until they finally reached what they assumed was a military outpost. Two large tree trunk buildings and one smaller shed-like structure surrounded by terrain of brambles and walls of thorns past its one trail leading in.

Donovan gave no orders beyond take the outpost, he did not need to, this was a squad of veterans and within moments the place was approached, searched, and taken. What they presumed was an office was empty of life and contained only a few crates and storage, what they thought were the main warehouses offered only a baffling sight of indoor gardens. The floor was rows of dirt with no actual flooring, empty plots of plants, and scattered bones among the withered old detritus of weeds. A small artificial light floated in the center of each plot, suspended by magic and bathing the room. Several speculated about what it could mean as Donovan ordered defensive positions to be hastily erected around them and scouts to look for encroaching enemies. He was positive they were being surrounded even as he gave the order for everyone to look alert but not as if they knew an attack was immediate. It allowed them time to better prepare.

To nobody’s surprise, the scouts on watch reported movement in the tree line, a subtle and careful movement that was only betrayed by the unnatural shift of the bushes moving against the wind periodically. Donovan took position near the center of the compound, by the rosaria and golems as he conversed lowly with some of the most experienced veterans. Slowly, orders were given out to appear less subtle, scouts and riflemen scaled the sides of the warehouses, golems took position at each entry path as their arcana thrummed with resonance to power their mana barriers, soldiers began to check ammo, bolt rifles, and take position around these titans as magi and psions dispersed among them. In return their enemy gave up the same charade, moving into the edges of the clearing to reveal themselves. Every face among the assembled horde around them was elven, not plants, not fungal abominations or wooden giants that served as cannon fodder.

No, it was elves, pale ethereal faces of almost porcelain texture that were both monstrous and beautiful. It was looking at the weaving of a monster made into the visage of a man, sharp angular faces and delicate skin clad in armor made of enchanted leather, leaves, and in some cases wood. The only iron among them were blades, glittering and thrumming with magical light that seemed to waver if gazed at for too long. Yet what ruined the beauty was the expressions, the eyes, the way their bodies spoke. Twisted leering smiles made of fangs and black pitiless eyes almost like insect eyes save for the cat-like slits that made their pupils. Nobody in the company so much as flinched, not a single rumble of worry or fear passed through them even as the horde of elves grew larger and larger until one could barely see the tree trunks past the clearing. All here had killed hundreds, maybe thousands of elves, all of them old soldiers and veterans of campaigns that culled the weak by the hour.

Donovan sighed, thinking of himself a fool for doing this, even as his gaze shifted towards his brother and met that still strange lapine face. Lannister nodded to him, he had his orders already, Donovan felt the overwhelming urge to say something, anything, this was the last time they would see each other alive. He wanted to tell Lannister he did this because he owed him, he wanted to tell him to say goodbye to his wife for him, that he did not blame him for what would happen next. Yet he froze, incapable of saying anything as Lannister turned away, speaking one final time before he reached for his enchanted bracer. “Steady, friend, when we are called, we answer.”

Donovan shook his head, he turned away as well, moving to climb up the side of the warehouse to join the riflemen positioned up there. Lannister was the chosen scout who would return, given an enchanted bracer that would turn him invisible and give him the chance to escape and report back to central command while everyone else attempted a fighting retreat. Those were the orders, but nobody believed there would be a retreat. As Donovan hoisted himself onto the roof and stood to survey the situation, he could only think to himself that everyone here was going to die. The thought only pissed him off. He wanted to give his last shouted orders, a speech, something to rally the veterans and give them something to fight just a bit harder for a bit longer before they succumb. Yet he had never been a man for speeches or words, soft-spoken and to the point, he could not rally men behind him like a lord would or could. No, he could not think of what to say as he unshouldered his rifle and chambered a round.

The elves were waiting, waiting until their war host came from the forest. Elves parted around it to allow a crone-like beast to limp into the clearing. Elven warlords were always dangerous specimens, not quite on par with a lord of the empire but dangerous creatures nonetheless. Nearly all of them were mages of some form, necromancers, warlocks, pyromancers, and geomancers. This particular one was withered, with aged skin like cracked leather encased in a black robe made of cloth and bones and wielding a staff made of spines and topped with a glowing skull.

“Necromancer.” Donovan muttered, his anger growing with the sight of this grinning black magician. It was the smile that did it. No doubt the elves were playing this for intimidation, to drive fear into their hearts and see Donovan and his men panic so they could savor the despair before killing them. Donovan only grew more and more enraged at the very idea. That… thing, was limping forward supported by its staff of better men’s bones in some vain attempt to strike fear in them. Donovan reacted without thinking, giving in to his anger and leveling his rifle before the necromancer halfway across the field could react. The shot rang out loudly across the silent field, everyone on both sides surprised as the necromancer’s head turned into a fine green mist of blood and bone.

“Kill them all and be done with it!” Donovan roared, his voice filled with his rage and joined by the sudden bellows and shouts of his men. Guns raised, the horde across the field rallied and fell into a sprint as bullets began to cut them down.

Donovan had already positioned everyone and issued orders in preparation, what happened next was a slaughter he had seen a thousand times across a thousand battles. Screaming blood crazed elves charging into a kill zone, mowed down and stumbling or leaping over their dead and dying comrades just to get closer. Each rifleman fired in alternating salvos, bullets never once ceasing as golems activated their anti-magic shields. The thrumming blue shimmers halted the few blasts of fireballs and boulders launched by elven mages while evenly deployed squads of ogre magi clad on full plate shouted bolstering and healing spells. Between them stronger soldiers bearing blades and shields readied themselves to meet those who made it past the firing lines, dispatching them with practiced coordinated maneuvers. Yet the real death-dealing came from the psions, scattered between and weaving through the defenders where their elemental powers emitted strikes of lightning, cryonic ice blasts, and explosive balls of fire.

Hours passed with only the cacophony of shouted spells, blasts of elemental might, and the thunder of guns. The number of elves never seemed to falter nor cease, bodies piled up higher and higher until the golems unleased their twin flame cannons to burn them away. The field of brambles and thorns became an abattoir of blood, gore, and ashes and still, neither side showed any sign of stopping. Casualties began slowly, as the rosaria were well protected and fed by the mana of their fellow ogres, but even magic had its limits and every hour more died as ammo supplies ran low and more were forced to fight in melee. Donovan had long since run dry on ammo first, tossing what remained to better shooters before he joined the front with sword and revolver. He witnessed the first ent break the tree line, the massive hulking beast of wood lumbering towards them. The golem it charged was forced to fight alone, its fellows incapable of leaving their position lest their shields open the defenders to elven magic.

Donovan could only watch the battle of titans, the golem deploying its mana blade and meeting the ent steel foot to trunk-like leg, the clash sending elf and patrolman flying with each impact. The shields faltered first, the golem’s pilot forced to reroute what remained on his mana battery into his combat runes. The runic magic that protected the bronze giant warping, its glow ebbing with every traded strike. The ent was bleeding ichor from half a dozen wounds, a mindless thing howling in rage until a sudden salvo of fireballs from newly arrived elven mages sent the line scattering without the golem’s shield to absorb it all. The suit buckled, the golem sensing its death and ejecting the pilot from the now burning cockpit where he, in flames and screaming, was caught by the weakened ent. Donovan shouted orders, rousing those unaware into closing the gap now that a golem and its protective barrier had fallen, his revolver leveled on the screaming pilot firing a single merciful bullet before five more rounds landed one after another in the ent’s head.

He rushed forward, flanked by comrades who fell in step with him, but now if anyone held any hope of retreating when the fighting lulled it was gone. Several died trying to stem the sudden surge as the elves saw their weakened state. They swarmed and even the ogres that had been protecting the now crumbling bronze titan failed to hold them off. Donovan did not have time to reload, the last bullet in his seven-round cylinder was his only backup as his sword cut a swathe through the enemy. But he was failing. Everyone had been fighting for hours. He was old, he was tired, his blade was slowing and his defense eroded until an elven blade finally slipped between his ribs. He was stabbed in the back, the blade hit his lungs, he was sure because he tasted blood and knew that he was slain. Heedless of his deathblow, he lurched forward, ripping the blade from his body and turning to fire his last bullet through the grinning elven face. He slumped to his knees as the elven corpse fell, his blood draining from his back, everything was growing faint and distant. His last thoughts were of his family, and his duty, wondering if it had meant anything.

As commander Donovan succumbed to his injuries, leadership fell to the next ranking officer still alive. A rodentfolk by the name of Sergei. The graying rat man yelled that the commander had fallen, issued out new orders, and demanded all reserves be put to use, all the ammo, all the remaining grenades. Everything they had. Sergei rallied the rest as he shouted his orders and his double-action revolvers claimed elven life after life without pause. In his day, Sergei might have been a lord himself, a gunslinger without equal who began his life as a sideshow performer before joining the military. He had settled down later on to become a family man, not pursuing greatness as he could have. Yet it was because of his sons that he was even here. His three eldest sons were old enough to have joined the ancient patrol but instead, he forbade it. They had legacies still and Sergei knew his time was coming to an end. He took his son’s ammo and made a promise that every creature that came into his sights would die, that as patriarch he would claim a life for every single bullet his sons gave him.

So far, he had held up his vow, his expensive revolvers dropped twelve elves with clean headshots. Cylinders popped and Sergei slammed his well-oiled guns together, the cartridges sliding free before tossing one gun in the air with a flourish. A speed loader flashed, refilling the revolver he still held before it was thrown into the air and the second was caught and loaded. The whole process took less than two seconds, the fastest hands this side of the federation from an old man who knew how to juggle and made a fancy trick an effective means of dealing death. Twelve more down, the last one winged and staggered before Sergei tossed a knife from his belt to end the struggling beast. He almost laughed to himself, because he knew when he met his sons in the afterlife he would still count that one. He held everyone together as Donovan did until his ammo ran dry, over two hundred magnum rounds and two hundred confirmed kills. His duty fulfilled, Sergei was slain when he was overwhelmed in melee, his last thoughts only of his oath fulfilled and his paternal pride. He would meet his son at Baitaal’s gates in triumph, even as the world went dark.

Next in line was Olga, a lagus psion, a woman who had not ever wanted to be here. A victim of noble squabbling and political maneuvers within her clan. She had fallen out of favor and had been volunteered for this mission against her will. Forced into this, she still represented everything her clan prided itself on. Her specialty was pyromancy. She was a living conduit of fire and when Sergei fell she took command, her orders spoken with the hatred she felt. Yet, when the moment came, she saw one of the golems being overwhelmed and acted without a second thought. She leaped into the mob surrounding the titan, everything in her psychic might coalescing within her hands as globes of fire before she landed among the enemy. Her last thoughts were bitter as she brought the two blazing orbs together, her heart filled only with hate as the inferno claimed her and the mob in the blast.

There were no more ranking officers now, the rest had been killed or lay bleeding to death on the ground. The three golems and most of the ogres were the only points of the rally now, the original battle mages were members of a fraternal order of brothers, mages devoted to the empire and the sons of Baitaal. They had come here to die, seeing themselves as beyond their prime and wishing to give their order a memory in the legend that would be the ancient patrol. To them this was almost a game, fed by each other's magical auras and good cheer, they sang their spells. They spoke well of those who fell, they insulted their enemy and laughed as death was dealt by their blades and magic. The first of their order to fall was one of the knights, overwhelmed by a second ent that sent the hulking ogre lifelessly tumbling into the ground before his brothers descended upon the plant-like creature and pummeled it into a pile of gore. They shouted their fallen members' names and sang of what had made him their valued brother, their infectious cheer bolstering the tired defenders who relied on the ogres to keep them healed and alive. But with the death of one, a domino effect happened, each ogre dying led to the remaining losing the bolstering effect that individual had. One by one, unable to feed of each others magical auras, each titan tumbled to the ground until the remaining two called for the rest to retreat to the warehouse.

The good cheer and singing were gone as what remained of the ancient patrol fled into the last rally point, their retreat covered by the two ogres and three remaining golems. They hoped to bottleneck the elves through the doorway of the sturdy building but by then it did little to help. The last sons of Baitaal rushed the enemy mob, blades and spell flying as they chanted the names of their fallen before they were buried in the tide of screaming elves. With the last two ogres falling they had lost what magical healing and enchantments they had left. Even with the golems interlocking shields and fighting side by side elves still slipped past, every wound now mounted and more were dying. The building had no windows, the elves stalled while they blasted the walls open with magic to create new doors. The golems could not cover every newly opened path, and soon the ancient patrol had dwindled to just the three pilots and one man. An ordinary human, a man like Donovan, bloody and long since out of ammo. He managed to drive his blade into three of the elves that tackled him to the ground before he was stabbed to death. With their golems too damaged to hold out for long, two of the three pilots chose their own merciful deaths. They diverted every rune from weapons and shields back into their mana battery, the golems charging into the crowded throng of elves while their power cells overloaded and went critical. The pilots ejected; their coats lined with stacks upon stacks of grenades that only added to the explosion. The whole building came down, a deafening explosion that killed nearly every elf in the clearing and left naught but rubble and a massive crater.

-

From his perch well beyond the battlefield, Lannister had witnessed it all through the scope of his rifle, defying his orders and remaining to survey the end of the ancient patrol from afar. The chosen scout watched through his scope as the burning destroyed rubble at the center of the crater began to shift, the last pilot that had survived the suicidal blast of his fellows hauled himself from the ruins. Lannister watched as the golem's runes flickered to life, repair runes fixing the damage now that the pilot was alone. But, instead of moving towards Lannister, towards the path back to the federation and safety, his combat runes began to glow and the golem turned to head further south. The pilot chose to go on a rampage rather than flee. Lannister sighed, feeling it foolish but still respecting the man's choice before he turned away and began loping through the forest to deliver his report of what happened to the only expedition into elven lands. His report became a tale that fell into legend, the memory of every man apart of the ancient patrol remembered in stone monuments for their sacrifice, gone and never forgotten.

[[Category: Lore]]

Hellbent

2024-05-13T21:42:54Z

HOUND:

The strange aspect of racketeering, is often a result of circumstances and opportunities, rather than the goal of a nefarious mind. Yorrick, a man no different than most racketeers, was just such a circumstance. He was a ticket conductor at the train station of Daggard Keep, working seven days a week from morning to evening before returning to his quite nice apartment. A young human man, Yorrick was friendly, approachable, good looking, and most importantly charismatic enough to be convincing.

The station with which he worked was the Shining Iron railway, a bustling platform that consisted of multiple tracks going in and out of the city, the gray stone floors covered in well-worn red carpets, which stretched in front of wooden benches laced in soft, cushiony upholstery. It naturally complimented the red-carpet floors with coal black shades, the main seating area was tastefully decorated with curtained windows facing the platform. The uncovered walls made of fine wooden paneling marred only by three large signs advertising departures, arrivals, and delays. Impressively, on the platform outside was a quite advanced and new age vending machine that was kept away from the peaceful interior due to the rather loud noises it's grinding gears made when used. Yorrick made use of it several times when it was first installed, fascinated by the way the gears ground and the soft hum of the mana-battery inside that cooled the beverages. It was his favorite part of the job, always having fresh and ice-cold drinks whenever he wished. It certainly made wearing his uniform easier. He did not mind the tasteful blue jacket, nor the cream-colored white undershirt or tan linen pants, but the hat always annoyed him. It was a bowler meant to set him apart from the porters, deep blue with a white crest to signify him as the ticket master. Well, it was a trade Yorrick always concluded, a silly hat for his wage and his side business.

Yorrick’s racket did not start intentionally, nor was it his plan when he was hired. It sprang about because many tourists traveling from the Warren Federation were often first-time arrivals. They would ask him for directions to the nearest hotels, restaurants, bordellos, or other various businesses. At first, he relied on the knowledge he had gained from living in this particular city all his life, directing these often times foreign travelers to where he personally approved. However, it did not take long before he was approached by one of the owners of a nearby hotel. This owner wanted an edge over his competitors and thus was willing to pay young Yorrick a small sum of money each week if he began directing people to his hotel.

Yorrick, being a cunning man, accepted and began getting what he saw as a harmless bonus. From that one humble start an entire racket was born because Yorrick thought to himself, why stop here? Over time he contacted various businesses, managers, and employees of popular tourist spots. Discretely and without quite admitting what he was doing while offering “advertising” at a competitive rate. Whoever gave him the highest payment that month got the most customers sent their way. A few years passed, Yorrick’s co-workers and his own manager having no idea of his growing side business as the sole ticket conductor of the Shining Iron railway company. The station was a particularly busy one most days after all, the bustling platform seeing the departure and arrival of all manner of people. From soldiers, to business men, to would-be adventurers and travelers. Yorrick met all manner of people and sent each on their way in turn with an easy smile and polite words.

But, for poor Yorrick, his efforts did not go unnoticed. In time, his business caught the eye of a more organized and nefarious group. Yorrick was approached one day by a rather rough looking orc outside his apartment door and was offered a deal that seemed far to good to be true. The orc told him that each week he would be given a hefty sum of money and in return all he must do is never approach, speak with, or mention a certain woman who would appear at the train station each morning. He must bring this woman a cup of tea and scone each day and never interact with her otherwise. Yorrick, suspecting that refusal might be dangerous and seeing easy money, took the offer. The orc handed him an envelope of his payment and Yorrick never saw him again.

The next morning Yorrick arrived to work with a sealed thermos of hot green tea and a fresh scone from his favorite bakery. The only person there was the woman he was to avoid, a lagus woman of a towering height. She wore a fine traditional dress, exposed at the shoulders and low cut to the edge of her rather endowed chest upheld by a corset. A wide brim hat and colored feathers adorned her head between two large rabbit ears that twitched in his direction at his approach. She was reading a book as Yorrick came up, conscious of his non-interaction the two met eyes in a single glance when she looked up before he set the tea and scone next to her. He offered a small bow and went to his ticket station to begin his day.

Over time, Yorrick grew steadily accustomed to this woman. Each day he brought her a tea and scone and each day he watched her eat and read. His spying, of course, was discrete. He made sure to never stare or look at her directly and went about his day with the same cheerful smile and normality he always had. Yet, as novelty is a fleeting thing, he soon found a routine with this strange woman. Even when he began finding his weekly envelopes of money directly delivered to his apartment he was not quite alarmed. Familiarity did not quiet his curiosity, however. She rarely interacted with anyone, sometimes she spoke in passing, once or twice a rather average looking person would sit next to her and strike up a conversation. Each time she would close her book and speak in soft low tones that Yorrick could never overhear and yet he could see her smile and laugh at times.

In a way he was becoming fascinated because to him it was like seeing a picture slowly taking shape. When he was a younger boy, Yorrick and the merry lads he called friends had often traveled to Old Man’s Lookout outside the vaunted walls of the city. This spot was named after the curious formation of stone that looked like the kind face of an old man forever staring out from his rocky home. It was a rite of passage for younger boys to go there and see the face. At first, it was just rocks and one could see nothing. Yet the longer one looked, the more carefully one traced the lines, cracks, and crags, they began to see. There it was, Old Man, and then you could never unsee it. Every time from that point forward you would look upon that stone hill and see that smiling face. The rocks, crags, and cracks ceased to be and the man took its place.

That is what Yorrick felt, watching this woman over the span of weeks, that he was seeing the picture begin to form. Noticing details of others was a skill that Yorrick had developed a long time ago, picking up the unsure or confused aura that foreigners gave off so that Yorrick could sweep in and help with directions and aid. What he saw watching this woman was that she was keenly aware of not only him, but of everyone on the station platform. She was looking for someone or something. Stranger still, some of the average normal looking people who sat by her and struck up a conversation were not strangers if one looked carefully enough. There was too much ease, too much casualness that it became a facade to a critical eye. The only person that Yorrick felt was a truly random encounter of those she knew was a particularly ugly ogre. Yorrick sensed that he might have seen this ogre before, perhaps among the local homeless vagabonds given his tarnished crown, food-stained vest, and dirty blue cloak, but he could not quite place him. The surprise that he read from the woman’s gaze was proof enough this was not a planned occurrence.

Sadly, he was stuck at the counter for some time helping various customers needing help with ticket purchases, train departures, and other business he was far less interested in. It wasn’t until he could flag down a porter to take his place for a moment that he could wander closer to the pair. He busied himself with tidying a pamphlet rack while straining to listen to the duo among the busy station. Yet all he could make out was the word business and something about magic. What little else he could have gotten was left a mystery as the porter was suddenly swamped with passengers and Yorrick had to move to assist.

After that day, Yorrick's keen interest had now become an obsession. He began to build a profile in his head of what this woman was doing, who she might be, what system she was a part of, and more importantly why it was so important to pay him not to mention her to anyone. She was a lagus, the tall lapine folk of the federation and thus was likely psionic to some degree. Yorrick was sure she was, after his observations noted her staring discretely and intently at various travelers. To what extent her psionics ability went he was unsure, but if she could read minds, he was positive he would have lost his weekly bonus now that he was more actively prying. If she could not read minds, his methods so far had gone undetected. He now branched outwards, noting details of those she spoke to and those she was observing more carefully whenever she looked up from her books.

A key set of characteristics began to form, details that would be easily overlooked were he not paying attention. First, of those she spoke to in more than passing Yorrick noted that each one was a federation race. A rodentfolk, a kobold, a lagus, rarely did he see her talk at length with those not from her own homeland. He could put this down to familiarity, that a familiar face made even those in passing look more fondly and openly to a stranger. Yet the second detail that he began to notice made him think more was going on. Nearly all of them wore the same ring, a simple band of steel that was likely a wedding band, decoration, or perhaps a sign of fellowship.

That was important, Yorrick noted, as he was being paid good money each week that nearly matched his racketeering business to do next to nothing. Whatever group she belonged to must be well connected and operates with discretion, so a simple sign of fellowship like a steel ring would be a perfect way to identify each other. Of those this woman took keen interest into, Yorrick could find no pattern that could connect them. Whatever her business was it eluded him no matter how much time he pondered and racked his mind for connections he simply could not make. He was forced to bide his time, observant and careful, bringing her the tea and scone each morning with his small bow and not once speaking to her despite the fact she occupied his every thought as weeks became months.

In a way, as Yorrick’s bank account swelled between his payment, his wage, and his racket, he fell into the same opportunity and chance that lead him here to begin with. On a slow drizzling day of light rain, a bit chilly, Yorrick found himself sitting behind a desk in a nearly empty station. His usual porter had called off that day, an unexpected pipe bursting at the man’s home left him calling out of work. His manager did not show up that day but Yorrick expected that, the lazy bastard rarely came into work if the weather was anything but pure sunshine. So he ran the place as a one man show, as the conductors remained on their trains and gave only a passing wave as they rolled by on the tracks.

Of the platform, only the lagus woman and a singular orc man were there. She was reading her usual book while the orc, sitting a few benches down, was reading the morning paper. He had a comfortable business suit, gray in tone and likely just passing through. Yorrick was dully going through the schedule, feeling a touch lazy himself with the weather and the normally bustling station now silent. He almost did not notice when the woman closed her book quietly and stood up. Her nine foot form caught his eye as she moved towards the orc. She remained behind the greenskinned man, beneath his notice as she withdrew a large wicked looking black dagger from her sleeve. Yorrick could hardly believe what he was seeing. The quiet, the calm and pleasant morning broken as this woman he had become obsessed with understanding suddenly drove her dagger into the orc’s spine, one huge hand covering his tusked lips and stifling his scream. She twisted the blade, the barest hint of a bloodied ragged wound seen before she jerked his head back and snapped his neck. Even in his shock, Yorrick noted a blood freezing detail, that the motion was done so carefully, so precise, that barely a drop of blood seeped into the orc’s clothes.

She was already moving, leaving the blade in the man’s neck as she lifted the orc’s arm over her shoulder and hoisted him unto her back. She turned and began to walk towards Yorrick, long legs striding as he tried to keep a lid of his panic. “Open the break room door.” She said, her tone neither sweet nor polite as he had often overheard. It was cruel and forceful, Yorrick almost did not do it, he almost turned and ran from behind the counter and towards the door. Then she was blocking the way behind the counter, looking at him coldly, waiting for compliance. Without a word Yorrick did as he was told, opening the door and walking inside before she followed. “Lay out the luggage tarp on the ground, quickly.” She said, shifting the weight of the corpse.

The backroom was little more than a somewhat large storage room forced to serve the multi-purpose function of being an office, break room, meal hall, and locker room for the six employees managing the station. It was sparsely decorated and had little more than a few maintenance items or office supplies scattered about on a few racks and a table. It was a familiar spot, where Yorrick often ate or took his rare breaks and yet now it was dominated by a murderer and the dead body she carried. Yorrick moved in a daze, not quite believing the reality he was now living as he grabbed the tarp covering the rack it had been tossed on and threw it on the floor. A moment of silence passed, the woman staring at him with those same dark eyes before he realized his mistake and reached down to open and spread the tarp out. Absurdly, he almost laughed, feeling foolish and nearly doubling his panicked mirth for even thinking that he was feeling foolish after witnessing a man be mercilessly slaughtered. The lagus dropped the corpse onto the tarp indifferently, her hands now free she began to roll it up and tie it down, wrenching her dagger free before wiping it indifferently on the tarp.

When she finished she stood up and looked at Yorrick carefully, she was appraising him now and he shrank away, not cowardly enough to run but fearful of his life. Another silence followed before she spoke, “Later tonight, three kobolds will arrive by carriage, you will open the back doors and they will dispose of the corpse.” She said, giving the tarp a sickening kick. Yorrick merely stared back in confusion. She wanted his help? After this? She did not notice or care for his thoughts. “You already know how to identify them.” That finally spurred him into action, Yorrick giving a hard startle. She knew. If she knew by now he had made that connection then she likely knew everything he had discovered. He finally found the courage to speak, “And why the hell should I help you?” He tried to sound angry, accusatory, as if he could fake the bravado he did not feel. Instead his voice came out sounding wilted, barely offering a wit of force behind it.

“Because if you don’t, the money stops, and you get blamed for this.” She responded back casually, nodding to the corpse. “Blamed? How in...” Yorrick began to say before his mind ran off faster than his words. Of course he would be blamed, he was the only person here besides her and what would the police believe? That a lagus nobody had ever heard of him mentioning, who had been there for weeks and had been paying him just murdered this man and ran off? It was possible they would believe him, possible that he could convince them with conviction but did he really want to take that risk? That his absurd story MIGHT be believed? He had a lot to lose. His job, his apartment... The money...

She was grinning at him now, amused, almost leering as she either guessed or read his thoughts and understood he concluded he was doomed if he did not help her. “What time will they arrive?” Yorrick asked, surprising himself with the control in his tone. “Ten o’ clock.” She replied before turning and heading to the door. She paused in the doorway, glancing back at him for a moment. Yorrick looked into her black eyes and pondered what made her so difficult to read. “Do this right, keep quiet, and start bringing jam with my scones and you might find more money waiting for you, Yorrick.” He could only nod in return before she disappeared. He looked to the corpse and wretched, not tossing up his breakfast but coming close. It was going to be a long day.

It was at the third time the mystery lagus killed someone at his train station he was given a clearer picture. She was Boss Yaga, coming and waiting for her target in a spot so public nobody would think of it dangerous or to be on guard. Waiting, watching, for the opportune moment to act while gathering intelligence of the comings and goings of the station and her syndicate underlings. By then he grew used to it, to the blood and the death. The second time he helped wrap the body, the third time he even distracted a second patron while Yaga carried out her work, the fifth time he simply lured her target to the back for a quicker and cleaner kill with less risk. The sixth time she gave him her dagger and told him to do it and he did the deed without hesitation. He was paid more each time.

But that hardly mattered. The seventh time Yaga made him an offer and he took it. He was welcomed to the Ashwood Syndicate, becoming her loyal servant, as a Penumbra.

[[Category: Lore]]

Roles

2024-04-24T10:19:34Z

HOUND: /* Ascendant */

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[[#top|Back to Top]]
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Your '''Job''' is what you are assigned to do. It defines what equipment you start with, your ID card access, and what you're actually supposed to be doing.

Some useful links:
* [[Character Creation]]
* [[Safe Zone Factions]]
* [[Standard Operating Procedure]]
* [[Guides]]
* [[Tips]]
* [[Relays]]

You should also read up about [[Laws]], so you know your rights, and [[Standard Operating Procedure]] so you know what you should usually do.

Due to the safe zone's open recruitment principle, you might encounter some interesting new [[Core Races|Races]] working alongside you.

== Breakers ==

{| style="background-color:#EEEEEF;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:#0b60e8;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:#0b60e8;" |Role
! style="background-color:#0b60e8;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Hammerlord]]
|The hammerlord serves as the head of office of the local regiment of the breakers. The breakers are contracted to protect the safe zone, working between the position of mercenaries and an order of knights. Your main objective is to maintain the law and safety of the safe zone, intervening when the agreement is breached and handling disputes between factions, freeblades, and outsiders. Secondarily, you lead your men into delving into the dungeons below, slaying monsters and collecting supplies for both yourselves and your fellow factions.
!Colossal
|-
![[Master of the Forge]]
|The master of the forge is the right hand of the hammerlord and the defacto controller of the armory. The master of the forge has the primary role of improving, modifying, and otherwise making weapons and armor better. Your job will often call you to use your forge to enchant or improve the armor and melee weapons of your breakers or create modifications for tools. Since your duties often keep you within the breaker's bunker, you will also be expected to process and manage prisoners, ranging from collecting fines to moving prisoners in and out. When the breakers do not need you, you can offer your services to the other factions for money and materials for your forge. You answer to the hammerlord, but if he leaves the bunker, you'll be expected to manage everything in his stead.
!Soul-Crushing
|-
![[Sledge]]
|The sledges serves as the closest thing to law and order that the safe zone has, positioned somewhere between a guard and knight-errant. Your primary job is to act as an enforcer for each faction, ensuring crime is kept to a minimum and intervening when someone violates the agreement. Your secondary job is being a walking tank of steel and armor, able to move swiftly into hundreds of pounds of armor that lets you absorb blows that would kill lesser men. When not actively aiding dungeon divers, you act as a guard, carrying a big stick and letting the thunder of your boots and swings from your hammer speak for you.
!Medium
|-
![[Ashman]]
|The ash men form the base of the breaker's marksmen, they make up the wall of guns between the safe zone and external hazards. While much of the safe zone is enclosed hallways, your rifle is the backbone of the breaker's defensive lines, with every hall being a potential kill zone. Tactics and teamwork are vital, you carry incredibly powerful guns and need to pick your shots carefully, from sniping down long halls to point blank shotgun surgery. When no active threats are going on, your most common job is aiding your fellow breakers and dungeon divers with your powerful firearms. Though you are easily the most powerfully equipped in the breakers, remember that ammunition is expensive and extremely rare to find. Make every bullet count.
!Hard
|-
![[Firebrand]]
|The firebrands represent the moving of the times, being men of the frontier and scouts who use only the most advanced form of six-shooters. Like the ashmen, firebrands are equipped with two firearms, a custom designed revolver and a magical pistol that fires exceptionally deadly gouts of flame. Unlike the ashmen and to a lesser extent the sledges, firebrands favor mobility over entrenched positions and heavy armor, giving them a knack for leaping and dodge rolling. While a crack shot with your pistols, the main purpose of the firebrands is to act as scouts and performing reconnaissance in dangerous locations, often working with small teams or alone. In times of peace, you are a guard like any other breaker, enforcing the agreement and maintaining the safe zones peace.
!Medium
|}

== Ashwood Syndicate ==

{| style="background-color:#FFFFDD;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:orange;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:orange;" |Role
! style="background-color:orange;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Merchant]]
|The merchant is responsible for the current operations of the Ashwood, maintaining a thriving economy through their various shops. Your main objective, bluntly, is to make as much money as you can. Purchase and acquire goods, and sell them on for a profit. Your fixers will handle most of the grunt work and your hospitality employees will provide drinks and food. They are capable - utilize them well. The clockwork vendors found through out the safe zone are operated by your company, earning you profits, be sure to keep an eye on them. There is a market for contraband and more unscrupulous services. Venturing into this area may prove profitable, but comes with risk. Lastly, you should always be considering what your fellow syndicate members needs for their jobs, such as supplying the kitchen with greens or fixers with materials.
!Complicated
|-
![[Penumbra]]
|The penumbra is an enforcer for the Ashwood Syndicate, relying on their innate skills and knowledge to keep the syndicate in working order. While you technically answer only to Boss Yaga, you are expected to follow the direct orders of the merchant during day to day operations. The skills of a penumbra make them an excellent at picking locks and killing specific targets, but that is considered secondary to your main job. When not helping the merchant the penumbra is expected to aid the breakers and the general populace as an investigator, using their shadowy talents to keep and observant eye on things. Aiding you is your team of agents who answer to you and only you, you must guide them in assisting others be it as detectives or dungeoneers. Though you are largely independent, your primary goal should be to always aid the members of the Syndicate, be they your agents or otherwise.
!Complex
|-
![[Fixer]]
|When it comes to making money the heart and soul of the syndicate's wealth comes from its fixers, providing services to any and all. Your primary job is multipurpose, fixers can tend to the bar and kitchen, manage the supply depot, and provide a variety of crafting services. At the bar, you serve drinks and talk with patrons, offering specific drinks and foods while talking about the day to day. In the kitchen you cook exotic and specific meals for patrons, using your supply of secret spices to do it better than anyone else. From the supply depot your the main supplier of expensive guns, ammunitions, and otherwise supplies, working as the middleman between customers and the Ashwood's storage depot. Finally, as a fixer you know a variety of different crafts, letting you expertly modify, fix, restore, and create all manner of tools, weapons, and even firearms to both trade and sell.
!Busy
|-
![[Agent]]
|Agents are a group of clandestine employees hired by the Ashwood Syndicate to act as investigators, dungeon explorers, and at rare times assassins. Your primary job as an agent is to keep crime to a minimum in the safe zone, investigating crimes and working with the breakers to imprison those who violate the agreement. When not working as a gumshoe, you have a wide variety of talents useful to dungeoneers, such as being able to unlock chests and doors. To further aid you in supporting others, you are well equipped to perform lethal backstabs with your daggers, executing enemies with ease provided you can get behind them. You also have access to a special laboratory, giving you a wide selection of methods to investigate potential crimes. Unlike other members of the Ashwood, you answer only to the penumbra, who answers directly to Boss Yaga.
!Medium
|-
![[Beast Master]]
|Beast matters derive their name from the animals they manage, be it chickens and cows for the kitchen or more volatile beasts meant to aid in keeping the safe zone secure. The beast masters primary duty is tending to their many animals, breeding fighting beasts for any willing to buy one and farming those meant for food. Your second duty is using left over animal parts to make higher quality equipment out of lower quality materials, ranging from leather armor to bone forged weapons. You know a fair bit about farming to aid in tending to your animals, so you will often be supplying the kitchen with meats and greens. Finally you are an expert in the bodies and anatomy of monsters and creatures, letting you find additional useful, rare, and potentially valuable parts when butchering them. All in all, you are the wild man of the safe zone, trying to make use of the nature and ecology in the closed ecosystem of Hammerfall.
!Easy
|}

== Ascendant ==
{| style="background-color:#EEEEFF;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:#DDA0DD;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:#DDA0DD;" |Role
! style="background-color:#DDA0DD;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Exalted]]
|The exalted is the chief magi of the ascendant, directing all the lantern bearers, psions, and brass hearts within the safe zone. The exalteds main purpose is directing the rune masters and rosaria to supply other residents with magical items and magical healing. The exalted also has access to the ascendants vast resources of wealth, giving them the ability to broker deals to keep their magi supplied. Your work is often misunderstood, as you and your speaker are the only ones able to use the weaving chambers, which provide numerous enchantments to the body directly. Of course, you are a powerful magi in your own right, and should support your fellows in any way they need, be it buying supplies or direct magical aid. The speaker is also your direct assistant and, more than likely, closest associate. You are expected not only to work closely with them, but get along.
!Very Hard
|-
![[Speaker]]
|The speaker is the exalted's right hand man and functions as an advisor and assistant. Your main purpose is to accompany the exalted and provide whatever aid they need, be it working at the weaving stations or direct protection. While the exalted functions more as a face and benefactor, you are more directly concerned with the day-to-day operations of the ascendant. When not working directly with the exalted, you should be assisting anyone who can make use of your skills. Just like the exalted, you have access to the weaving machines, allowing you to research and create various enchantments.
!Hard
|-
![[Rune Master]]
|The rune master is a magical researcher and creator, capable of creating and using runes to forge magical items. While rune masters are most known for creating magical items and weapons, you also maintain the safe zones power grid and structural integrity. Like a primitive engineer and archtitect, rune masters repair and fix parts of the safe zone to prevent them from fully breaking down. When not doing repairs, rune masters run the arcane lab where they produce all manners of interesting and useful magical items. Lastly, you have access to the golem manufactorum, where various golems and golem accessories are produced, ranging from magical armors to autonomous servants.
!Medium
|-
![[Rosaria]]
|The rosaria is a professional medic and surgeon dedicated to healing the sick and injured, at all costs. A broad range of medical procedures fall under your purview - diagnostics, general treatment, surgery, and magical healing. What cannot be fixed using spells can be done with alchemy or surgery, giving you a wide variety of treatment options. In addition to healer, you are also an alchemist, with a fully stocked and capable alchemy lab that allows you to refine natural chemicals into powerful medicines. While secondary to your main goal, the rosaria also has access to industrial farming equipment so you may harvest raw healing chemicals to further refine.
!Hard
|-
![[Seeker]]
|The seeker is the rank and file of the ascendants magical fighters, those capable of support through rune lanterns or fighting with psionics. While you are by no means a heavy hitter or front liner like someone from the ashwood or breakers, as a seeker you provide magical aid through various methods. This includes summoning daemons, creating undead minions, giving party wide enchantments, or providing range support via spells and psionics abilities. Additionally, you are one of the few people capable of disarming magical traps, making you a valued asset for dungeon divers. Lastly, you also make up the main security force for the ascendant, using your spells to defend and protect everyone within.
!Easy
|}

== Freeblades ==
{| style="background-color:#8b8c8f;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:#646566;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:#646566;" |Role
! style="background-color:#646566;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Resident]]
|The ideal newcomer role. You have no official position within Hammerfall or are simply off duty. You will not be paid a wage.<br>
Where did you come from? Why are you here? These things are up to you.<br>
<br>
Perhaps you're a new arrival, who had no other options but to come here willingly. What are you seeking, or what are you running from?<br>
Perhaps you're with one of the main factions, having followed your leader during their banishment?<br>
Perhaps you're a former prisoner, ready to join these upstart gangs that made the safe zone. What was your crime?<br>
Perhaps you're an enemy of the empire, condemned here for your crimes against the nation?<br>
Perhaps you're a known resident, just taking time off to enjoy yourself?<br>
<br>
Your story is yours to write. What matters is that you're here now - find some purpose.<br>
To form connections, strive to help out anyone you can. Or at least, anyone who offers you a paying job.<br>
Find a way to make money, stay out of trouble, and survive.
!Easiest
|-
![[Prospector]]
|The prospector is a professional resource procurer, acquiring valuable minerals for anyone willing to pay. Your primary responsibility is to descend into the deep tunnels and dig up as much ore as you can. The mines are accessed by an elevator which can take you deep underground to pick and scavenge whatever you can. Whatever you dig up is yours to do with as you please, from selling, hoarding, or bartering it at your discretion. Pack well and consider teaming up with other prospectors or hiring a few toughs to defend you while you work, prospectors disappear all the time.
!Medium
|-
![[Gardener]]
|The gardener toils in their personal gardens - utilizing seeds, tools, and fertilizers to grow bountiful crops. More talented gardeners may dip into ranching. Your paddocks contain a few chickens and a cow. More exotic animals can be acquired from the beast master or ascendants. You are the go-to expert for flora destruction - use shovels and hatchets. Remember that your goods come at a price, and more exotic crops can command a higher price.
!Easy
|-
![[Jester]]
|The jester serves as a versatile performance artist here to entertain residents. You may find your fellows distracted by boring duties or senseless bickering, so work hard to bring them some real culture. As a freeblade, you make next to nothing on your paycheck, consider selling your various items and bits of art for money. Unlike others who are inspired, you instead use your inspiration at your work bench to create wondrous works of art that have a variety of uses.
!Random
|-
![[Custodian]]
|The lowly custodian, well paid but rarely respected, nevertheless provides a valuable service. You will trundle around the safe zone, armed with your trusty janicart full of cleaning supplies, disposing of trash and pests. Some minor maintenance also falls within your duties. Fix broken braziers, correct broken vendors, replace floor tiles - ease the rune master's burden. You are as well paid as most faction leaders, each one giving a portion of your income so you can keep the safe zone spotless.
!Easy
|}

<br>
<br>
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Roles

2024-02-18T16:39:39Z

HOUND: /* Freeblades */

<div class="noprint" style="background-color:#FAFAFA; position:fixed; bottom:2%; left:0.25%; padding:0; margin:0;">
[[#top|Back to Top]]
</div>
Your '''Job''' is what you are assigned to do. It defines what equipment you start with, your ID card access, and what you're actually supposed to be doing.

Some useful links:
* [[Character Creation]]
* [[Safe Zone Factions]]
* [[Standard Operating Procedure]]
* [[Guides]]
* [[Tips]]
* [[Relays]]

You should also read up about [[Laws]], so you know your rights, and [[Standard Operating Procedure]] so you know what you should usually do.

Due to the safe zone's open recruitment principle, you might encounter some interesting new [[Core Races|Races]] working alongside you.

== Breakers ==

{| style="background-color:#EEEEEF;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:#0b60e8;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:#0b60e8;" |Role
! style="background-color:#0b60e8;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Hammerlord]]
|The hammerlord serves as the head of office of the local regiment of the breakers. The breakers are contracted to protect the safe zone, working between the position of mercenaries and an order of knights. Your main objective is to maintain the law and safety of the safe zone, intervening when the agreement is breached and handling disputes between factions, freeblades, and outsiders. Secondarily, you lead your men into delving into the dungeons below, slaying monsters and collecting supplies for both yourselves and your fellow factions.
!Colossal
|-
![[Master of the Forge]]
|The master of the forge is the right hand of the hammerlord and the defacto controller of the armory. The master of the forge has the primary role of improving, modifying, and otherwise making weapons and armor better. Your job will often call you to use your forge to enchant or improve the armor and melee weapons of your breakers or create modifications for tools. Since your duties often keep you within the breaker's bunker, you will also be expected to process and manage prisoners, ranging from collecting fines to moving prisoners in and out. When the breakers do not need you, you can offer your services to the other factions for money and materials for your forge. You answer to the hammerlord, but if he leaves the bunker, you'll be expected to manage everything in his stead.
!Soul-Crushing
|-
![[Sledge]]
|The sledges serves as the closest thing to law and order that the safe zone has, positioned somewhere between a guard and knight-errant. Your primary job is to act as an enforcer for each faction, ensuring crime is kept to a minimum and intervening when someone violates the agreement. Your secondary job is being a walking tank of steel and armor, able to move swiftly into hundreds of pounds of armor that lets you absorb blows that would kill lesser men. When not actively aiding dungeon divers, you act as a guard, carrying a big stick and letting the thunder of your boots and swings from your hammer speak for you.
!Medium
|-
![[Ashman]]
|The ash men form the base of the breaker's marksmen, they make up the wall of guns between the safe zone and external hazards. While much of the safe zone is enclosed hallways, your rifle is the backbone of the breaker's defensive lines, with every hall being a potential kill zone. Tactics and teamwork are vital, you carry incredibly powerful guns and need to pick your shots carefully, from sniping down long halls to point blank shotgun surgery. When no active threats are going on, your most common job is aiding your fellow breakers and dungeon divers with your powerful firearms. Though you are easily the most powerfully equipped in the breakers, remember that ammunition is expensive and extremely rare to find. Make every bullet count.
!Hard
|-
![[Firebrand]]
|The firebrands represent the moving of the times, being men of the frontier and scouts who use only the most advanced form of six-shooters. Like the ashmen, firebrands are equipped with two firearms, a custom designed revolver and a magical pistol that fires exceptionally deadly gouts of flame. Unlike the ashmen and to a lesser extent the sledges, firebrands favor mobility over entrenched positions and heavy armor, giving them a knack for leaping and dodge rolling. While a crack shot with your pistols, the main purpose of the firebrands is to act as scouts and performing reconnaissance in dangerous locations, often working with small teams or alone. In times of peace, you are a guard like any other breaker, enforcing the agreement and maintaining the safe zones peace.
!Medium
|}

== Ashwood Syndicate ==

{| style="background-color:#FFFFDD;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:orange;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:orange;" |Role
! style="background-color:orange;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Merchant]]
|The merchant is responsible for the current operations of the Ashwood, maintaining a thriving economy through their various shops. Your main objective, bluntly, is to make as much money as you can. Purchase and acquire goods, and sell them on for a profit. Your fixers will handle most of the grunt work and your hospitality employees will provide drinks and food. They are capable - utilize them well. The clockwork vendors found through out the safe zone are operated by your company, earning you profits, be sure to keep an eye on them. There is a market for contraband and more unscrupulous services. Venturing into this area may prove profitable, but comes with risk. Lastly, you should always be considering what your fellow syndicate members needs for their jobs, such as supplying the kitchen with greens or fixers with materials.
!Complicated
|-
![[Penumbra]]
|The penumbra is an enforcer for the Ashwood Syndicate, relying on their innate skills and knowledge to keep the syndicate in working order. While you technically answer only to Boss Yaga, you are expected to follow the direct orders of the merchant during day to day operations. The skills of a penumbra make them an excellent at picking locks and killing specific targets, but that is considered secondary to your main job. When not helping the merchant the penumbra is expected to aid the breakers and the general populace as an investigator, using their shadowy talents to keep and observant eye on things. Aiding you is your team of agents who answer to you and only you, you must guide them in assisting others be it as detectives or dungeoneers. Though you are largely independent, your primary goal should be to always aid the members of the Syndicate, be they your agents or otherwise.
!Complex
|-
![[Fixer]]
|When it comes to making money the heart and soul of the syndicate's wealth comes from its fixers, providing services to any and all. Your primary job is multipurpose, fixers can tend to the bar and kitchen, manage the supply depot, and provide a variety of crafting services. At the bar, you serve drinks and talk with patrons, offering specific drinks and foods while talking about the day to day. In the kitchen you cook exotic and specific meals for patrons, using your supply of secret spices to do it better than anyone else. From the supply depot your the main supplier of expensive guns, ammunitions, and otherwise supplies, working as the middleman between customers and the Ashwood's storage depot. Finally, as a fixer you know a variety of different crafts, letting you expertly modify, fix, restore, and create all manner of tools, weapons, and even firearms to both trade and sell.
!Busy
|-
![[Agent]]
|Agents are a group of clandestine employees hired by the Ashwood Syndicate to act as investigators, dungeon explorers, and at rare times assassins. Your primary job as an agent is to keep crime to a minimum in the safe zone, investigating crimes and working with the breakers to imprison those who violate the agreement. When not working as a gumshoe, you have a wide variety of talents useful to dungeoneers, such as being able to unlock chests and doors. To further aid you in supporting others, you are well equipped to perform lethal backstabs with your daggers, executing enemies with ease provided you can get behind them. You also have access to a special laboratory, giving you a wide selection of methods to investigate potential crimes. Unlike other members of the Ashwood, you answer only to the penumbra, who answers directly to Boss Yaga.
!Medium
|-
![[Beast Master]]
|Beast matters derive their name from the animals they manage, be it chickens and cows for the kitchen or more volatile beasts meant to aid in keeping the safe zone secure. The beast masters primary duty is tending to their many animals, breeding fighting beasts for any willing to buy one and farming those meant for food. Your second duty is using left over animal parts to make higher quality equipment out of lower quality materials, ranging from leather armor to bone forged weapons. You know a fair bit about farming to aid in tending to your animals, so you will often be supplying the kitchen with meats and greens. Finally you are an expert in the bodies and anatomy of monsters and creatures, letting you find additional useful, rare, and potentially valuable parts when butchering them. All in all, you are the wild man of the safe zone, trying to make use of the nature and ecology in the closed ecosystem of Hammerfall.
!Easy
|}

== Ascendant ==
{| style="background-color:#EEEEFF;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:#DDA0DD;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:#DDA0DD;" |Role
! style="background-color:#DDA0DD;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Exalted]]
|The exalted is the chief magi of the ascendant, directing all the lantern bearers, psions, and brass hearts within the safe zone. The exalteds main purpose is directing the rune masters and rosaria to supply other residents with magical items and magical healing. The exalted also has access to the ascendants vast resources of wealth, giving them the ability to broker deals to keep their magi supplied. Your work is often misunderstood, as you and your speaker are the only ones able to use the weaving chambers, which provide numerous enchantments to the body directly. Of course, you are a powerful magi in your own right, and should support your fellows in any way they need, be it buying supplies or direct magical aid. The speaker is also your direct assistant and, more than likely, closest associate. You are expected not only to work closely with them, but get along.
!Very Hard
|-
![[Speaker]]
|The speaker is the exalted's right hand man and functions as an advisor and assistant. Your main purpose is to accompany the exalted and provide whatever aid they need, be it working at the weaving stations or direct protection. While the exalted functions more as a face and benefactor, you are more directly concerned with the day-to-day operations of the ascendant. When not working directly with the exalted, you should be assisting anyone who can make use of your skills. Just like the exalted, you have access to the weaving machines, allowing you to research and create various enchantments.
!Hard
|-
![[Rune Master]]
|The rune master is a magical researcher and creator, capable of creating and using runes to forge magical items. While rune masters are most known for creating magical items and weapons, you also maintain the safe zones power grid and structural integrity. Like a primitive engineer and archtitect, rune masters repair and fix parts of the safe zone to prevent them from fully breaking down. When not doing repairs, rune masters run the arcane lab where they produce all manners of interesting and useful magical items. Lastly, you have access to the golem manufactorum, where various golems and golem accessories are produced, ranging from magical armors to autonomous servants.
!Medium
|-
![[Rosaria]]
|The rosaria is a professional medic and surgeon dedicated to healing the sick and injured, at all costs. A broad range of medical procedures fall under your purview - diagnostics, general treatment, surgery, and magical healing. What cannot be fixed using spells can be done with alchemy or surgery, giving you a wide variety of treatment options. In addition to healer, you are also an alchemist, with a fully stocked and capable alchemy lab that allows you to refine natural chemicals into powerful medicines. While secondary to your main goal, the rosaria also has access to industrial farming equipment so you may harvest raw healing chemicals to further refine.
!Hard
|-
![[Seeker]]
|The seeker is the rank and file of the ascendants magical fighters, those capable of supprt through rune lanterns or fighting with psionics. While you are by no means a heavy hitter or front liner like someone from the ashwood or breakers, as a seeker you provide magical aid through various methods. This includes summoning daemons, creating undead minions, giving party wide enchantments, or providing range support via spells and psionics abilities. Additionally, you are one of the few people capable of disarming magical traps, making you a valued asset for dungeon divers. Lastly, you also make up the main security force for the ascendant, using your spells to defend and protect everyone within.
!Easy
|}

== Freeblades ==
{| style="background-color:#8b8c8f;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:#646566;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:#646566;" |Role
! style="background-color:#646566;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Resident]]
|The ideal newcomer role. You have no official position within Hammerfall or are simply off duty. You will not be paid a wage.<br>
Where did you come from? Why are you here? These things are up to you.<br>
<br>
Perhaps you're a new arrival, who had no other options but to come here willingly. What are you seeking, or what are you running from?<br>
Perhaps you're with one of the main factions, having followed your leader during their banishment?<br>
Perhaps you're a former prisoner, ready to join these upstart gangs that made the safe zone. What was your crime?<br>
Perhaps you're an enemy of the empire, condemned here for your crimes against the nation?<br>
Perhaps you're a known resident, just taking time off to enjoy yourself?<br>
<br>
Your story is yours to write. What matters is that you're here now - find some purpose.<br>
To form connections, strive to help out anyone you can. Or at least, anyone who offers you a paying job.<br>
Find a way to make money, stay out of trouble, and survive.
!Easiest
|-
![[Prospector]]
|The prospector is a professional resource procurer, acquiring valuable minerals for anyone willing to pay. Your primary responsibility is to descend into the deep tunnels and dig up as much ore as you can. The mines are accessed by an elevator which can take you deep underground to pick and scavenge whatever you can. Whatever you dig up is yours to do with as you please, from selling, hoarding, or bartering it at your discretion. Pack well and consider teaming up with other prospectors or hiring a few toughs to defend you while you work, prospectors disappear all the time.
!Medium
|-
![[Gardener]]
|The gardener toils in their personal gardens - utilizing seeds, tools, and fertilizers to grow bountiful crops. More talented gardeners may dip into ranching. Your paddocks contain a few chickens and a cow. More exotic animals can be acquired from the beast master or ascendants. You are the go-to expert for flora destruction - use shovels and hatchets. Remember that your goods come at a price, and more exotic crops can command a higher price.
!Easy
|-
![[Jester]]
|The jester serves as a versatile performance artist here to entertain residents. You may find your fellows distracted by boring duties or senseless bickering, so work hard to bring them some real culture. As a freeblade, you make next to nothing on your paycheck, consider selling your various items and bits of art for money. Unlike others who are inspired, you instead use your inspiration at your work bench to create wondrous works of art that have a variety of uses.
!Random
|-
![[Custodian]]
|The lowly custodian, well paid but rarely respected, nevertheless provides a valuable service. You will trundle around the safe zone, armed with your trusty janicart full of cleaning supplies, disposing of trash and pests. Some minor maintenance also falls within your duties. Fix broken braziers, correct broken vendors, replace floor tiles - ease the rune master's burden. You are as well paid as most faction leaders, each one giving a portion of your income so you can keep the safe zone spotless.
!Easy
|}

<br>
<br>
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Lore

2024-01-10T16:36:51Z

HOUND: /* Standard Information */

</div>
<br><big> '''Welcome to the Hammerfall Lore page!''' </big></br>
The pages and links within contain in-character content which pertains to the game's world that may or may not be represented in-game mechanically, and is more meant to provide background information on which to build the world and characters off of. It is commonly known as "fluff" due to this. Things such as a economics or a kingdom culture are two such examples of lore that serves as fluff, which can then be used in a character's background to provide more immersive detail. The vast majority of these pages can be read as if your character is reading it unless stated otherwise. Please keep in mind that the content within however can be changed or edited at any time as corrections to help maintain continuity are not unheard of. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the lore, please contact [[User:Possum]] for more information.
{{toc_right}}

=Note from Server Maintainers=
Any and all species OR RACES from other servers do not exist in our lore. Any attempt to bring an alien/outsider species from another server will be met with character removal. Any attempt to use lore from other servers will be met with administrative action. Custom species are required to be in the realm of possibility, and if you want to create a new race that is not a chimeric you are required to use this [[Creating a Race|guide]] or contact a lore maintainer.

=Premise=
You are a trapped in the realm known as Hammer's Fall, a mysterious and ancient mountain dungeon of renown and fear through out the land. Perhaps you were a criminal, whose crime was troublesome enough to have you cast into this hell by the magistrates of the three nations. You may have been innocent or you were truly guilty, none of that truly matters now. Within this dungeon no one has ever escaped from, a fledgling society has formed in an area known as the Safe Zone, it's three powerful factions holding sway. They are ;

The militaristic brotherhood of soldiers and knights known as the Breakers, lead by the legendary war hero Tarkus the Ash Lord.
The Ashwood Syndicate is maintaining this small economy and overseeing the logistics of its growing wealth and strength under the careful eye of Bagman Herod and his enforcer, Boss Yaga.
Then, the Ascendant, the newly made industrious magi-tech faction that supplies all manner of magical aid from weapons to golems to training in the arts of rune magic, psionics, and clockwork machines.

These factions, lead by Lords whom were cast into this dungeon themselves, extends a hand to all who will aid them in their goal of escaping this prison and finding the rumored dragon's horde hidden within. Whether you choose to be apart of them or merely one of the many Freeblades who live within the safe zone, you are welcomed here to rebuild your life.

=Introduction=
Relative stability is the status quo of the world, the three great empires unified in an alliance against a common threat. The midland and greatest power known as the militarist Onokrin Empire has consolidated power between the southern egalitarian Warren Federation and the island shogunate of the Steel Legion to fend off the mutual enemy of the Blood Rose Pact, vile and twisted elves on the southern fringes of the world hell bent on slaughtering any who will not submit to them. Though the war has been on going for decades the world has peace and stability beyond the front lines where conflict ebbs and wanes every month. Across this storied and varied realm many races and factions work in unity. Cities, towns, and villages dot the landscape of a hostile and dangerous world, where even trained soldiers are loathe to leave the safety of the fortified walls and batteries serving to keep away vicious magical creatures and other potential dangers.

The sprawling city states of the Onokrin Empire are home to the humans, orcs, ogres, and goblins who make up the true mobilization and logistical efforts of the on-going war. Lead by the Emperor Lucius Aratus and his appointed oligarchs known as Lords, the Onokrin is an immense power house of a faction and considered the strongest of the three empires. The Onokrin Empire is the current leading polity on rune magic and technology, having the advantage of an extensive network of railroads facilitating trade between their allies. The Onokrin Empire is far from the authoritarian brutalism one would expect from a militarist monarchy. It is a center of trade and culture, with citizens caring deeply for the expression of art, culture, and individual freedom. Through towns and cities are fiefdoms ruled by lords, men and women of legendary skills and talents. The average citizen is highly free to pursue their own aims thanks to a robust and effective system of laws. The current Emperor, Lucius Aratus, maintains a clear focus between supporting the ongoing war and ensuring quality of life for those maintaining support. All is not perfect within the Empire, however, as while the local Lords can be considered people of higher moral character in general, the nobles that surround them are little more than craven and corrupt collections of coat-tail hangers, whom are tolerated for their uses as administrators and clerks. The empire chaffs under the corruption rife within its noble ranks, with the law only managing a single step ahead.

The underground mountain bunkers of the Warren Federation are massive cities of life, distinguished of three major holds that contain the three races of the original Federation accord. The hulking and physically tall Lagus, the diminutive and industrious Kobolds, and the wily and clever Rodentfolk. These three races came to a peaceful accord long ago, forging a bastion of thriving commerce, industry, and magical research. Where the Onokrin Empire can be considered a militaristic empire, the Federation can be easily thought of as egalitarian, its realms largely based on democratic ideals. Kobolds run most of the industries, from factories to individual business and services, exporting goods through the Rodentfolk who maintain labyrinthine and complex trade routes through the use of caravans, trains, and networks of runners. Overseeing the administration and enforcement of laws and government are the lagus, whose natural psionic ability make them skilled both in the realms of peace keeping and in maintaining a cohesive democracy. The Federation faces its own challenges down the mountains, and to its southern borders is the front line of the ongoing war, held together by the unified front of the three Empires are miles upon miles of continent spanning trenches filled with soldiers, guns, magi-tech artillery, and commanders coordinating a decade-spanning defense -and stalemate. Only once have the Elves ever breached the line, but the one single time was enough to leave many living in fear, even behind the wall of guns and mortar that protect them.

Finally, the last polity, we have the Steel Legion, hailing from its island paradise where the minotaur and deerfolk reside. The Steel Legion is an aloof and often mysterious faction, lead by the Shogun Hayta and his Daiymo who rule with an iron fist. Among the lands of the Steel Legion, only the minotaurs are considered to be true citizens, the deerfolk little more than a race of serfs whom toil beneath their masters for protection and governorship. A barbaric policy to many, however the Steel Legion is the only realm in which one may walk freely in the wilds without fear of predators, the minotaurs having long since slain all who would threaten the stability of their nation, and are unified under a single banner. This attitude of supremacy extends beyond their borders, and to the sea, with Steel Legion ships being the best Naval forces in the world, crewed by merchants and samurais armed to the teeth with slow firing but powerful guns used to fell sea-born kaijus and other great beasts from the sea. Great and mighty beasts are hunted for wealth and sport, their parts hacked off and sold for magical reagents and use in complex networks of commerce. The Steel Legion controls the sea, continuously forgoing direct aid to its allies to ensure relative peace among the waters of the world.

=Standard Information=
Here is the basic information that you should look over to get acquainted with the lore, background, and fluff of the Hammerfall universe.

===[[Timeline]]===
For a general overview of when the Big Things happened, check here.

===[[Nations]]===
The primary nations, a deeper dive on their structure, culture, and nature.

===[[Laws]]===
Laws of the safe zone, designed to offer civilization in a hostile prison.

===Known [[Factions]]===
Factions and forces both present and former that once or still exist within Hammer's Fall. Includes the primary core factions players are apart of.

===[[Safe Zone]]===
A basic guide to the structure of the safe zone, from the upper residential to the lower industrial areas.

===[[Roles]]===
Every faction has its leaders and roles, from their unique commanders and their important second in commands to the rank and file. Those not affiliated with a faction are known as Freeblades, people deemed worthy of residing in the safe zone but swear no allegiance.

===[[Races]]===
The empires of the world are widely varied, citizens and outsiders come from all manner of backgrounds and races, from exotic chimeric humans to regular and normal orcs or rodentfolk.

===[[Technology|Technologies]]===
A collection of well-known universal technologies that in some form or another completely altered the course of history, or are so endemic to the modern age, that few live lives without coming into regular contact with these technologies.

===[[Magi]]c===
The various types of magic ranging from the barely understood ancient magic, the formulaic and often scientific runic and clockwork magic, to the ethereal and super natural psionic magic.

===[[Religion]]===
A closer examination of the three primary gods, their domains, and how the general attitude of religion is treated.

== World Map ==
[[File:Amerilia.jpg]]

[[#top|Back to Top]]
[[Category:Lore]]

Lore

2024-01-10T16:36:29Z

HOUND: /* Introduction */

</div>
<br><big> '''Welcome to the Hammerfall Lore page!''' </big></br>
The pages and links within contain in-character content which pertains to the game's world that may or may not be represented in-game mechanically, and is more meant to provide background information on which to build the world and characters off of. It is commonly known as "fluff" due to this. Things such as a economics or a kingdom culture are two such examples of lore that serves as fluff, which can then be used in a character's background to provide more immersive detail. The vast majority of these pages can be read as if your character is reading it unless stated otherwise. Please keep in mind that the content within however can be changed or edited at any time as corrections to help maintain continuity are not unheard of. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the lore, please contact [[User:Possum]] for more information.
{{toc_right}}

=Note from Server Maintainers=
Any and all species OR RACES from other servers do not exist in our lore. Any attempt to bring an alien/outsider species from another server will be met with character removal. Any attempt to use lore from other servers will be met with administrative action. Custom species are required to be in the realm of possibility, and if you want to create a new race that is not a chimeric you are required to use this [[Creating a Race|guide]] or contact a lore maintainer.

=Premise=
You are a trapped in the realm known as Hammer's Fall, a mysterious and ancient mountain dungeon of renown and fear through out the land. Perhaps you were a criminal, whose crime was troublesome enough to have you cast into this hell by the magistrates of the three nations. You may have been innocent or you were truly guilty, none of that truly matters now. Within this dungeon no one has ever escaped from, a fledgling society has formed in an area known as the Safe Zone, it's three powerful factions holding sway. They are ;

The militaristic brotherhood of soldiers and knights known as the Breakers, lead by the legendary war hero Tarkus the Ash Lord.
The Ashwood Syndicate is maintaining this small economy and overseeing the logistics of its growing wealth and strength under the careful eye of Bagman Herod and his enforcer, Boss Yaga.
Then, the Ascendant, the newly made industrious magi-tech faction that supplies all manner of magical aid from weapons to golems to training in the arts of rune magic, psionics, and clockwork machines.

These factions, lead by Lords whom were cast into this dungeon themselves, extends a hand to all who will aid them in their goal of escaping this prison and finding the rumored dragon's horde hidden within. Whether you choose to be apart of them or merely one of the many Freeblades who live within the safe zone, you are welcomed here to rebuild your life.

=Introduction=
Relative stability is the status quo of the world, the three great empires unified in an alliance against a common threat. The midland and greatest power known as the militarist Onokrin Empire has consolidated power between the southern egalitarian Warren Federation and the island shogunate of the Steel Legion to fend off the mutual enemy of the Blood Rose Pact, vile and twisted elves on the southern fringes of the world hell bent on slaughtering any who will not submit to them. Though the war has been on going for decades the world has peace and stability beyond the front lines where conflict ebbs and wanes every month. Across this storied and varied realm many races and factions work in unity. Cities, towns, and villages dot the landscape of a hostile and dangerous world, where even trained soldiers are loathe to leave the safety of the fortified walls and batteries serving to keep away vicious magical creatures and other potential dangers.

The sprawling city states of the Onokrin Empire are home to the humans, orcs, ogres, and goblins who make up the true mobilization and logistical efforts of the on-going war. Lead by the Emperor Lucius Aratus and his appointed oligarchs known as Lords, the Onokrin is an immense power house of a faction and considered the strongest of the three empires. The Onokrin Empire is the current leading polity on rune magic and technology, having the advantage of an extensive network of railroads facilitating trade between their allies. The Onokrin Empire is far from the authoritarian brutalism one would expect from a militarist monarchy. It is a center of trade and culture, with citizens caring deeply for the expression of art, culture, and individual freedom. Through towns and cities are fiefdoms ruled by lords, men and women of legendary skills and talents. The average citizen is highly free to pursue their own aims thanks to a robust and effective system of laws. The current Emperor, Lucius Aratus, maintains a clear focus between supporting the ongoing war and ensuring quality of life for those maintaining support. All is not perfect within the Empire, however, as while the local Lords can be considered people of higher moral character in general, the nobles that surround them are little more than craven and corrupt collections of coat-tail hangers, whom are tolerated for their uses as administrators and clerks. The empire chaffs under the corruption rife within its noble ranks, with the law only managing a single step ahead.

The underground mountain bunkers of the Warren Federation are massive cities of life, distinguished of three major holds that contain the three races of the original Federation accord. The hulking and physically tall Lagus, the diminutive and industrious Kobolds, and the wily and clever Rodentfolk. These three races came to a peaceful accord long ago, forging a bastion of thriving commerce, industry, and magical research. Where the Onokrin Empire can be considered a militaristic empire, the Federation can be easily thought of as egalitarian, its realms largely based on democratic ideals. Kobolds run most of the industries, from factories to individual business and services, exporting goods through the Rodentfolk who maintain labyrinthine and complex trade routes through the use of caravans, trains, and networks of runners. Overseeing the administration and enforcement of laws and government are the lagus, whose natural psionic ability make them skilled both in the realms of peace keeping and in maintaining a cohesive democracy. The Federation faces its own challenges down the mountains, and to its southern borders is the front line of the ongoing war, held together by the unified front of the three Empires are miles upon miles of continent spanning trenches filled with soldiers, guns, magi-tech artillery, and commanders coordinating a decade-spanning defense -and stalemate. Only once have the Elves ever breached the line, but the one single time was enough to leave many living in fear, even behind the wall of guns and mortar that protect them.

Finally, the last polity, we have the Steel Legion, hailing from its island paradise where the minotaur and deerfolk reside. The Steel Legion is an aloof and often mysterious faction, lead by the Shogun Hayta and his Daiymo who rule with an iron fist. Among the lands of the Steel Legion, only the minotaurs are considered to be true citizens, the deerfolk little more than a race of serfs whom toil beneath their masters for protection and governorship. A barbaric policy to many, however the Steel Legion is the only realm in which one may walk freely in the wilds without fear of predators, the minotaurs having long since slain all who would threaten the stability of their nation, and are unified under a single banner. This attitude of supremacy extends beyond their borders, and to the sea, with Steel Legion ships being the best Naval forces in the world, crewed by merchants and samurais armed to the teeth with slow firing but powerful guns used to fell sea-born kaijus and other great beasts from the sea. Great and mighty beasts are hunted for wealth and sport, their parts hacked off and sold for magical reagents and use in complex networks of commerce. The Steel Legion controls the sea, continuously forgoing direct aid to its allies to ensure relative peace among the waters of the world.

=Standard Information=
Here is the basic information that you should look over to get acquainted with the lore, background, and fluff of the Sojourn universe.

===[[Timeline]]===
For a general overview of when the Big Things happened, check here.

===[[Nations]]===
The primary nations, a deeper dive on their structure, culture, and nature.

===[[Laws]]===
Laws of the safe zone, designed to offer civilization in a hostile prison.

===Known [[Factions]]===
Factions and forces both present and former that once or still exist within Hammer's Fall. Includes the primary core factions players are apart of.

===[[Safe Zone]]===
A basic guide to the structure of the safe zone, from the upper residential to the lower industrial areas.

===[[Roles]]===
Every faction has its leaders and roles, from their unique commanders and their important second in commands to the rank and file. Those not affiliated with a faction are known as Freeblades, people deemed worthy of residing in the safe zone but swear no allegiance.

===[[Races]]===
The empires of the world are widely varied, citizens and outsiders come from all manner of backgrounds and races, from exotic chimeric humans to regular and normal orcs or rodentfolk.

===[[Technology|Technologies]]===
A collection of well-known universal technologies that in some form or another completely altered the course of history, or are so endemic to the modern age, that few live lives without coming into regular contact with these technologies.

===[[Magi]]c===
The various types of magic ranging from the barely understood ancient magic, the formulaic and often scientific runic and clockwork magic, to the ethereal and super natural psionic magic.

===[[Religion]]===
A closer examination of the three primary gods, their domains, and how the general attitude of religion is treated.

== World Map ==
[[File:Amerilia.jpg]]

[[#top|Back to Top]]
[[Category:Lore]]

Lore

2024-01-10T16:22:00Z

HOUND: /* Premise */

</div>
<br><big> '''Welcome to the Hammerfall Lore page!''' </big></br>
The pages and links within contain in-character content which pertains to the game's world that may or may not be represented in-game mechanically, and is more meant to provide background information on which to build the world and characters off of. It is commonly known as "fluff" due to this. Things such as a economics or a kingdom culture are two such examples of lore that serves as fluff, which can then be used in a character's background to provide more immersive detail. The vast majority of these pages can be read as if your character is reading it unless stated otherwise. Please keep in mind that the content within however can be changed or edited at any time as corrections to help maintain continuity are not unheard of. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the lore, please contact [[User:Possum]] for more information.
{{toc_right}}

=Note from Server Maintainers=
Any and all species OR RACES from other servers do not exist in our lore. Any attempt to bring an alien/outsider species from another server will be met with character removal. Any attempt to use lore from other servers will be met with administrative action. Custom species are required to be in the realm of possibility, and if you want to create a new race that is not a chimeric you are required to use this [[Creating a Race|guide]] or contact a lore maintainer.

=Premise=
You are a trapped in the realm known as Hammer's Fall, a mysterious and ancient mountain dungeon of renown and fear through out the land. Perhaps you were a criminal, whose crime was troublesome enough to have you cast into this hell by the magistrates of the three nations. You may have been innocent or you were truly guilty, none of that truly matters now. Within this dungeon no one has ever escaped from, a fledgling society has formed in an area known as the Safe Zone, it's three powerful factions holding sway. They are ;

The militaristic brotherhood of soldiers and knights known as the Breakers, lead by the legendary war hero Tarkus the Ash Lord.
The Ashwood Syndicate is maintaining this small economy and overseeing the logistics of its growing wealth and strength under the careful eye of Bagman Herod and his enforcer, Boss Yaga.
Then, the Ascendant, the newly made industrious magi-tech faction that supplies all manner of magical aid from weapons to golems to training in the arts of rune magic, psionics, and clockwork machines.

These factions, lead by Lords whom were cast into this dungeon themselves, extends a hand to all who will aid them in their goal of escaping this prison and finding the rumored dragon's horde hidden within. Whether you choose to be apart of them or merely one of the many Freeblades who live within the safe zone, you are welcomed here to rebuild your life.

=Introduction=
Relative stability is the status quo of the world, the three great empires unified in an alliance against a common threat. The midland and greatest power known as the militarist Onokrin Empire has consolidated power between the southern egalitarian Warren Federation and the island shogunate of the Steel Legion to fend off the mutual enemy of the Blood Rose Pact, vile and twisted elves on the southern fringes of the world hell bent on slaughtering any who will not submit to them. Though the war has been on going for decades the world has peace and stability beyond the front lines where conflict ebbs and wanes every month. Across this storied and varied realm many races and factions work in unity. Cities, towns, and villages dot the landscape of a hostile and dangerous world, where even trained soldiers are loathe to leave the safety of the fortified walls and batteries serving to keep vicious magical creatures and other potential dangers.

The sprawling city states of the Onokrin Empire are home to the humans, orcs, ogres, and goblins who make up the true mobilization and logistical efforts of the on-going war. Lead by the Emperor Lucius Aratus and his appointed oligarchs known as Lords the Onokrin is an immense power house of a faction and considered the strongest of the three empires. The empire is the current leading polity on rune magic and technology, having the advantage of an extensive network of railroads facilitating trade between their allies. Yet the empire is far from an empire of authoritarian brutalism one would expect from a militarist monarchy, it is a center of trade and culture, with citizens caring deeply for the expression of art, culture, and individual freedom. Though towns and cities are fiefdoms ruled by lords, men and women of legendary skills and talents, the average citizen is highly free to pursue their own aims thanks to a robust and effective system of laws. The current emperor, Lucius, maintains a clear focus between supporting the ongoing war and ensuring quality of life for those maintaining support. All is not perfect within the empire, however, as while the local lords can be considered people of higher moral character in general, the nobles that surround them are little more than craven and corrupt collections of coat-tail hangers whom are tolerated for their uses as administrators and clerks. The empire chaffs under the corruption rife within its noble ranks, with the law only managing a single step ahead.

The underground mountain bunkers of the Warren Federation are massive cities of life, three major holds that contain the three races of the original federation accord. The hulking and physically tall lagus, the diminutive and industrious kobolds, and the wily and clever rodentfolk. These three races came to a peaceful accord long ago, forging a bastion of thriving commerce, industry, and magical research. Where the empire can be considered a militaristic empire, the federation can be easily thought of as egalitarian, its realms largely based on democratic ideals. Kobolds run most of the industries, from factories to individual business and services, exporting goods through the rodentfolk who maintain labyrinthine and complex trade routes through the use of caravans, trains, and networks of runners. Overseeing the administration and enforcement of laws and government are the lagus, whose natural psionic ability make them skilled both in the realms of peace keeping and in maintaining a cohesive democracy. Yet the federation faces its own challenges, down the mountains and to its southern borders is the front line of the ongoing war, held together by the unified front of the three empires are miles upon miles of continent spanning trenches filled with soldiers, guns, magi-tech artillery, and commanders coordinating a decade spanning defense. Only once have the elves ever breached the line, but the single time was enough to leave many living in fear, even behind the wall of guns and mortar that protect them.

Finally, the last polity, the Steel Legion hailing from its island paradise where the minotaur and deerfolk reside. The Steel Legion is an aloof and often mysterious faction, lead by the shogun Hayta and his daiymo who rule with an iron fist. Among the lands of the Steel Legion only the minotaurs are considered to be true citizens, the deerfolk little more than a race of serfs whom toil beneath their masters for protection and governorship. A barbaric policy to many, however the Steel Legion is the only realm in which one may walk freely in the wilds without fear of predators, the minotaurs had long since slain all who would threaten the stability of their nation and are unified under a single banner. This attitude of supremacy extends beyond their borders to the sea, with Steel Legion ships the best in the world, crewed by merchants and samurai armed to the teeth with slow firing but powerful guns used to fell sea-born kaiju. Great and mighty beasts are hunted for wealth and sport, their parts hacked off and sold for magical reagents and use in complex networks of commerce. The Steel Legion controls the sea, forgoing direct aid to its allies to ensure relative peace among the waters of the world.

=Standard Information=
Here is the basic information that you should look over to get acquainted with the lore, background, and fluff of the Sojourn universe.

===[[Timeline]]===
For a general overview of when the Big Things happened, check here.

===[[Nations]]===
The primary nations, a deeper dive on their structure, culture, and nature.

===[[Laws]]===
Laws of the safe zone, designed to offer civilization in a hostile prison.

===Known [[Factions]]===
Factions and forces both present and former that once or still exist within Hammer's Fall. Includes the primary core factions players are apart of.

===[[Safe Zone]]===
A basic guide to the structure of the safe zone, from the upper residential to the lower industrial areas.

===[[Roles]]===
Every faction has its leaders and roles, from their unique commanders and their important second in commands to the rank and file. Those not affiliated with a faction are known as Freeblades, people deemed worthy of residing in the safe zone but swear no allegiance.

===[[Races]]===
The empires of the world are widely varied, citizens and outsiders come from all manner of backgrounds and races, from exotic chimeric humans to regular and normal orcs or rodentfolk.

===[[Technology|Technologies]]===
A collection of well-known universal technologies that in some form or another completely altered the course of history, or are so endemic to the modern age, that few live lives without coming into regular contact with these technologies.

===[[Magi]]c===
The various types of magic ranging from the barely understood ancient magic, the formulaic and often scientific runic and clockwork magic, to the ethereal and super natural psionic magic.

===[[Religion]]===
A closer examination of the three primary gods, their domains, and how the general attitude of religion is treated.

== World Map ==
[[File:Amerilia.jpg]]

[[#top|Back to Top]]
[[Category:Lore]]

Lore

2024-01-10T16:21:46Z

HOUND: /* Premise */

</div>
<br><big> '''Welcome to the Hammerfall Lore page!''' </big></br>
The pages and links within contain in-character content which pertains to the game's world that may or may not be represented in-game mechanically, and is more meant to provide background information on which to build the world and characters off of. It is commonly known as "fluff" due to this. Things such as a economics or a kingdom culture are two such examples of lore that serves as fluff, which can then be used in a character's background to provide more immersive detail. The vast majority of these pages can be read as if your character is reading it unless stated otherwise. Please keep in mind that the content within however can be changed or edited at any time as corrections to help maintain continuity are not unheard of. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the lore, please contact [[User:Possum]] for more information.
{{toc_right}}

=Note from Server Maintainers=
Any and all species OR RACES from other servers do not exist in our lore. Any attempt to bring an alien/outsider species from another server will be met with character removal. Any attempt to use lore from other servers will be met with administrative action. Custom species are required to be in the realm of possibility, and if you want to create a new race that is not a chimeric you are required to use this [[Creating a Race|guide]] or contact a lore maintainer.

=Premise=
You are a trapped in the realm known as Hammer's Fall, a mysterious and ancient mountain dungeon of renown and fear through out the land. Perhaps you were a criminal, whose crime was troublesome enough to have you cast into this hell by the magistrates of the three nations. You may have been innocent or you were truly guilty, none of that truly matters now. Within this dungeon no one has ever escaped from, a fledgling society has formed in an area known as the Safe Zone, it's three powerful factions holding sway. They are;

The militaristic brotherhood of soldiers and knights known as the Breakers, lead by the legendary war hero Tarkus the Ash Lord.
The Ashwood Syndicate is maintaining this small economy and overseeing the logistics of its growing wealth and strength under the careful eye of Bagman Herod and his enforcer, Boss Yaga.
Then, the Ascendant, the newly made industrious magi-tech faction that supplies all manner of magical aid from weapons to golems to training in the arts of rune magic, psionics, and clockwork machines.

These factions, lead by Lords whom were cast into this dungeon themselves, extends a hand to all who will aid them in their goal of escaping this prison and finding the rumored dragon's horde hidden within. Whether you choose to be apart of them or merely one of the many Freeblades who live within the safe zone, you are welcomed here to rebuild your life.

=Introduction=
Relative stability is the status quo of the world, the three great empires unified in an alliance against a common threat. The midland and greatest power known as the militarist Onokrin Empire has consolidated power between the southern egalitarian Warren Federation and the island shogunate of the Steel Legion to fend off the mutual enemy of the Blood Rose Pact, vile and twisted elves on the southern fringes of the world hell bent on slaughtering any who will not submit to them. Though the war has been on going for decades the world has peace and stability beyond the front lines where conflict ebbs and wanes every month. Across this storied and varied realm many races and factions work in unity. Cities, towns, and villages dot the landscape of a hostile and dangerous world, where even trained soldiers are loathe to leave the safety of the fortified walls and batteries serving to keep vicious magical creatures and other potential dangers.

The sprawling city states of the Onokrin Empire are home to the humans, orcs, ogres, and goblins who make up the true mobilization and logistical efforts of the on-going war. Lead by the Emperor Lucius Aratus and his appointed oligarchs known as Lords the Onokrin is an immense power house of a faction and considered the strongest of the three empires. The empire is the current leading polity on rune magic and technology, having the advantage of an extensive network of railroads facilitating trade between their allies. Yet the empire is far from an empire of authoritarian brutalism one would expect from a militarist monarchy, it is a center of trade and culture, with citizens caring deeply for the expression of art, culture, and individual freedom. Though towns and cities are fiefdoms ruled by lords, men and women of legendary skills and talents, the average citizen is highly free to pursue their own aims thanks to a robust and effective system of laws. The current emperor, Lucius, maintains a clear focus between supporting the ongoing war and ensuring quality of life for those maintaining support. All is not perfect within the empire, however, as while the local lords can be considered people of higher moral character in general, the nobles that surround them are little more than craven and corrupt collections of coat-tail hangers whom are tolerated for their uses as administrators and clerks. The empire chaffs under the corruption rife within its noble ranks, with the law only managing a single step ahead.

The underground mountain bunkers of the Warren Federation are massive cities of life, three major holds that contain the three races of the original federation accord. The hulking and physically tall lagus, the diminutive and industrious kobolds, and the wily and clever rodentfolk. These three races came to a peaceful accord long ago, forging a bastion of thriving commerce, industry, and magical research. Where the empire can be considered a militaristic empire, the federation can be easily thought of as egalitarian, its realms largely based on democratic ideals. Kobolds run most of the industries, from factories to individual business and services, exporting goods through the rodentfolk who maintain labyrinthine and complex trade routes through the use of caravans, trains, and networks of runners. Overseeing the administration and enforcement of laws and government are the lagus, whose natural psionic ability make them skilled both in the realms of peace keeping and in maintaining a cohesive democracy. Yet the federation faces its own challenges, down the mountains and to its southern borders is the front line of the ongoing war, held together by the unified front of the three empires are miles upon miles of continent spanning trenches filled with soldiers, guns, magi-tech artillery, and commanders coordinating a decade spanning defense. Only once have the elves ever breached the line, but the single time was enough to leave many living in fear, even behind the wall of guns and mortar that protect them.

Finally, the last polity, the Steel Legion hailing from its island paradise where the minotaur and deerfolk reside. The Steel Legion is an aloof and often mysterious faction, lead by the shogun Hayta and his daiymo who rule with an iron fist. Among the lands of the Steel Legion only the minotaurs are considered to be true citizens, the deerfolk little more than a race of serfs whom toil beneath their masters for protection and governorship. A barbaric policy to many, however the Steel Legion is the only realm in which one may walk freely in the wilds without fear of predators, the minotaurs had long since slain all who would threaten the stability of their nation and are unified under a single banner. This attitude of supremacy extends beyond their borders to the sea, with Steel Legion ships the best in the world, crewed by merchants and samurai armed to the teeth with slow firing but powerful guns used to fell sea-born kaiju. Great and mighty beasts are hunted for wealth and sport, their parts hacked off and sold for magical reagents and use in complex networks of commerce. The Steel Legion controls the sea, forgoing direct aid to its allies to ensure relative peace among the waters of the world.

=Standard Information=
Here is the basic information that you should look over to get acquainted with the lore, background, and fluff of the Sojourn universe.

===[[Timeline]]===
For a general overview of when the Big Things happened, check here.

===[[Nations]]===
The primary nations, a deeper dive on their structure, culture, and nature.

===[[Laws]]===
Laws of the safe zone, designed to offer civilization in a hostile prison.

===Known [[Factions]]===
Factions and forces both present and former that once or still exist within Hammer's Fall. Includes the primary core factions players are apart of.

===[[Safe Zone]]===
A basic guide to the structure of the safe zone, from the upper residential to the lower industrial areas.

===[[Roles]]===
Every faction has its leaders and roles, from their unique commanders and their important second in commands to the rank and file. Those not affiliated with a faction are known as Freeblades, people deemed worthy of residing in the safe zone but swear no allegiance.

===[[Races]]===
The empires of the world are widely varied, citizens and outsiders come from all manner of backgrounds and races, from exotic chimeric humans to regular and normal orcs or rodentfolk.

===[[Technology|Technologies]]===
A collection of well-known universal technologies that in some form or another completely altered the course of history, or are so endemic to the modern age, that few live lives without coming into regular contact with these technologies.

===[[Magi]]c===
The various types of magic ranging from the barely understood ancient magic, the formulaic and often scientific runic and clockwork magic, to the ethereal and super natural psionic magic.

===[[Religion]]===
A closer examination of the three primary gods, their domains, and how the general attitude of religion is treated.

== World Map ==
[[File:Amerilia.jpg]]

[[#top|Back to Top]]
[[Category:Lore]]

Lore

2024-01-10T16:17:32Z

HOUND: /* Premise */

</div>
<br><big> '''Welcome to the Hammerfall Lore page!''' </big></br>
The pages and links within contain in-character content which pertains to the game's world that may or may not be represented in-game mechanically, and is more meant to provide background information on which to build the world and characters off of. It is commonly known as "fluff" due to this. Things such as a economics or a kingdom culture are two such examples of lore that serves as fluff, which can then be used in a character's background to provide more immersive detail. The vast majority of these pages can be read as if your character is reading it unless stated otherwise. Please keep in mind that the content within however can be changed or edited at any time as corrections to help maintain continuity are not unheard of. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the lore, please contact [[User:Possum]] for more information.
{{toc_right}}

=Note from Server Maintainers=
Any and all species OR RACES from other servers do not exist in our lore. Any attempt to bring an alien/outsider species from another server will be met with character removal. Any attempt to use lore from other servers will be met with administrative action. Custom species are required to be in the realm of possibility, and if you want to create a new race that is not a chimeric you are required to use this [[Creating a Race|guide]] or contact a lore maintainer.

=Premise=
You are a trapped in the realm known as Hammer's Fall, a mysterious and ancient mountain dungeon of renown and fear through out the land. Perhaps you were a criminal, whose crime was troublesome enough to have you cast into this hell by the magistrates of the three nations. You may have been innocent or you were truly guilty, none of that truly matters now. Within this dungeon no one has ever escaped from a fledgling society has formed in an area known as the safe zone, three powerful factions holding sway. The militaristic brotherhood of soldiers and knights known as the Breakers, lead by the legendary war hero Tarkus the Ash Lord. The former supply syndicate of the Ashwood, maintaining this small economy and overseeing the logistics of its growing wealth and strength under the careful eye of Bagman Herod and his enforcer Boss Yaga. Then, the Ascendant, the newly made industrious magi-tech faction that supplies all manner of magical aid from weapons to golems to training in the arts of rune magic, psionics, and clockwork machines.

These factions, lead by lords whom were cast into this dungeon themselves, extends a hand to all who will aid them in their goal of escaping this prison and finding the rumored dragon's horde hidden within. Whether you choose to be apart of them or merely one of the many Freeblades who live within the safe zone, you are welcomed here to rebuild your life.

=Introduction=
Relative stability is the status quo of the world, the three great empires unified in an alliance against a common threat. The midland and greatest power known as the militarist Onokrin Empire has consolidated power between the southern egalitarian Warren Federation and the island shogunate of the Steel Legion to fend off the mutual enemy of the Blood Rose Pact, vile and twisted elves on the southern fringes of the world hell bent on slaughtering any who will not submit to them. Though the war has been on going for decades the world has peace and stability beyond the front lines where conflict ebbs and wanes every month. Across this storied and varied realm many races and factions work in unity. Cities, towns, and villages dot the landscape of a hostile and dangerous world, where even trained soldiers are loathe to leave the safety of the fortified walls and batteries serving to keep vicious magical creatures and other potential dangers.

The sprawling city states of the Onokrin Empire are home to the humans, orcs, ogres, and goblins who make up the true mobilization and logistical efforts of the on-going war. Lead by the Emperor Lucius Aratus and his appointed oligarchs known as Lords the Onokrin is an immense power house of a faction and considered the strongest of the three empires. The empire is the current leading polity on rune magic and technology, having the advantage of an extensive network of railroads facilitating trade between their allies. Yet the empire is far from an empire of authoritarian brutalism one would expect from a militarist monarchy, it is a center of trade and culture, with citizens caring deeply for the expression of art, culture, and individual freedom. Though towns and cities are fiefdoms ruled by lords, men and women of legendary skills and talents, the average citizen is highly free to pursue their own aims thanks to a robust and effective system of laws. The current emperor, Lucius, maintains a clear focus between supporting the ongoing war and ensuring quality of life for those maintaining support. All is not perfect within the empire, however, as while the local lords can be considered people of higher moral character in general, the nobles that surround them are little more than craven and corrupt collections of coat-tail hangers whom are tolerated for their uses as administrators and clerks. The empire chaffs under the corruption rife within its noble ranks, with the law only managing a single step ahead.

The underground mountain bunkers of the Warren Federation are massive cities of life, three major holds that contain the three races of the original federation accord. The hulking and physically tall lagus, the diminutive and industrious kobolds, and the wily and clever rodentfolk. These three races came to a peaceful accord long ago, forging a bastion of thriving commerce, industry, and magical research. Where the empire can be considered a militaristic empire, the federation can be easily thought of as egalitarian, its realms largely based on democratic ideals. Kobolds run most of the industries, from factories to individual business and services, exporting goods through the rodentfolk who maintain labyrinthine and complex trade routes through the use of caravans, trains, and networks of runners. Overseeing the administration and enforcement of laws and government are the lagus, whose natural psionic ability make them skilled both in the realms of peace keeping and in maintaining a cohesive democracy. Yet the federation faces its own challenges, down the mountains and to its southern borders is the front line of the ongoing war, held together by the unified front of the three empires are miles upon miles of continent spanning trenches filled with soldiers, guns, magi-tech artillery, and commanders coordinating a decade spanning defense. Only once have the elves ever breached the line, but the single time was enough to leave many living in fear, even behind the wall of guns and mortar that protect them.

Finally, the last polity, the Steel Legion hailing from its island paradise where the minotaur and deerfolk reside. The Steel Legion is an aloof and often mysterious faction, lead by the shogun Hayta and his daiymo who rule with an iron fist. Among the lands of the Steel Legion only the minotaurs are considered to be true citizens, the deerfolk little more than a race of serfs whom toil beneath their masters for protection and governorship. A barbaric policy to many, however the Steel Legion is the only realm in which one may walk freely in the wilds without fear of predators, the minotaurs had long since slain all who would threaten the stability of their nation and are unified under a single banner. This attitude of supremacy extends beyond their borders to the sea, with Steel Legion ships the best in the world, crewed by merchants and samurai armed to the teeth with slow firing but powerful guns used to fell sea-born kaiju. Great and mighty beasts are hunted for wealth and sport, their parts hacked off and sold for magical reagents and use in complex networks of commerce. The Steel Legion controls the sea, forgoing direct aid to its allies to ensure relative peace among the waters of the world.

=Standard Information=
Here is the basic information that you should look over to get acquainted with the lore, background, and fluff of the Sojourn universe.

===[[Timeline]]===
For a general overview of when the Big Things happened, check here.

===[[Nations]]===
The primary nations, a deeper dive on their structure, culture, and nature.

===[[Laws]]===
Laws of the safe zone, designed to offer civilization in a hostile prison.

===Known [[Factions]]===
Factions and forces both present and former that once or still exist within Hammer's Fall. Includes the primary core factions players are apart of.

===[[Safe Zone]]===
A basic guide to the structure of the safe zone, from the upper residential to the lower industrial areas.

===[[Roles]]===
Every faction has its leaders and roles, from their unique commanders and their important second in commands to the rank and file. Those not affiliated with a faction are known as Freeblades, people deemed worthy of residing in the safe zone but swear no allegiance.

===[[Races]]===
The empires of the world are widely varied, citizens and outsiders come from all manner of backgrounds and races, from exotic chimeric humans to regular and normal orcs or rodentfolk.

===[[Technology|Technologies]]===
A collection of well-known universal technologies that in some form or another completely altered the course of history, or are so endemic to the modern age, that few live lives without coming into regular contact with these technologies.

===[[Magi]]c===
The various types of magic ranging from the barely understood ancient magic, the formulaic and often scientific runic and clockwork magic, to the ethereal and super natural psionic magic.

===[[Religion]]===
A closer examination of the three primary gods, their domains, and how the general attitude of religion is treated.

== World Map ==
[[File:Amerilia.jpg]]

[[#top|Back to Top]]
[[Category:Lore]]

Penumbra

2023-11-30T01:06:03Z

HOUND: /* Purpose */

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:black; background-color:#fae5d3 ; | Penumbra
"Their's something dangerous in the dark... '''Me.'''"
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Ashwood Syndicate
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Ashwood, Breakers
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
Boss Yaga
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Complex
|} </div>
As the penumbra, you are what makes up a sheriff to the safe zone, your tasks primarily include investigating crimes and enforcing both the laws and the agreement. As a result, your tasks usually include being a good speaker and known around the safe zone. Beneath you are your agents, members of the Ashwood that can be considered detectives in their own right who answer to you. Just like them, you are all trained killers, but you are a cut above even them.

==Stat Requirement==
* Robustness: 15
* Toughness: 15
* Vigilance: 20

==Purpose==
As the penumbra your primary purpose is that of the acting lawman within the safe zone. Your domains include interrogations, investigations, forensics, and working closely with the breakers to order arrests, fines, and prisoner detainment. Due to the nature of arrests needing both agents and breakers involved, you should also foster good relations with the [[Master of the Forge]] and [[Hammerlord]], two people you are expected to be working closely with. To better organize your efforts you have your agents, a group of detectives and likely former cutthroats arranged to act as investigators. Each agent is trained in forensics, investigation, and most importantly given instruction on how to properly use a blade. The safe zone did not magically earn its name at random, nor is the name as accurate as it should be. Violence is what keeps the safe zone safe and it is only through the actions of the three factions that it keeps being that way. While your men lack the armor and training that the breakers have, you are the most easily supplied thanks to your Ashwood contacts and both yourself and your agents are trained to be deadly killers in addition to lawmen.

As such, your secondary goal beyond keeping the safe zone safe and crime free is aiding in its protection and patrols. This can range between sending agents on dungeon expeditions or having them tag along with breakers. Both should be highly encouraged, as it promotes cooperation between the two factions. Your agents lack proper armor but can be supplied premium munitions or even scrap ammo from your internal faction, making them excellent gunslingers and capable of sharing ammo with [[Firebrand]]s and [[Ashman]]. All agents and yourself are also trained in the art of assassination and your daggers are highly lethal when stabbing creatures in the back. This makes your men highly effective when they employ strategy and tactics over the breakers usual overwhelming force method.

Unlike your agents, you are given additional powers thanks to being in a closer position to Boss Yaga. Though she rarely meets with most penumbra, each one is supplied with a black candle of her own making. Through a ritual shared with each of you, the candle is lit and left to burn while you sleep within a light-less room. For the next day afterwards, a penumbra can invoke a special ability that allows them to turn nearly invisible and disappear from the eye of most creatures. Additionally the penumbra can phase through people, but not objects, allowing them to move into the perfect position to make use of their stronger than normal dagger.

== Tips ==
* You have a special ability to make killing easy, use it, but remember it has a lengthy cool down.
* Your unique dagger is toxic as well as lethal, be wary of using it on people lest they die from the poison.
* You are a skilled killer but you are also the ultimately say on the law. Do not confuse the two.
* Know the [[Laws]] by memory.

=== Unique Equipment ===
* Black Blade - A special dagger given only to the penumbra, it is on par with an agent's blade while also dealing additional toxin damage due to its lethal enchantment. Do not lose it.
* Forensics kit - A kit containing all manner of mundane and magical items suited for allowing you to track down and determine who is a criminal and who is not. Keep it handy.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* Agents need direction, organize patrols and work with your team. Do not hesitate to ask for advice or their thoughts, just because they are your lackey does not mean they cannot be insightful.
* You can investigate and determine fault, while assigning crimes, fines, and detainment times. However, it is the duty of the breakers to carry out the detainment and fine acquiring process. Make sure you and your team work with them readily.

<br>
<br>
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Beast Master

2023-11-30T01:03:15Z

HOUND: /* Purpose */

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
!colspan="6"style="color:black; background-color:#fae5d3 ; | Beast Master
"Yes, she bites. Buffoon."
!colspan="6" | Faction:
Ashwood Syndicate
!colspan="6" | Access Rune:
Ashwood
!colspan="6" | Faction Boss:
Merchant
!colspan="6" |Difficulty:
Easy
|} </div>

As the beast master, you are part of the lower end of supply for the Ashwood Syndicate. You tend to the garden and beasts within by growing produce, collecting eggs, milking cows, and butchering animals for meat, bones, leather. Similar to a fixer, you have access to the bar to serve drinks or cook food if you wish, but your main goal is merely to make sure the fridge is stocked with raw produce and meat.

==Stat Requirement==
* Biology: 30
* Toughness: 10

==Purpose==
Your main purpose, as stated above, is to tend to the gardens and beasts within. This gives you a lot of free time as both largely take care of themselves and need little maintenance besides watering and food respectively. You are to stock the fridge with raw produce, breed and then butcher excess animals for meat and parts, and tend to the kitchen and bar if you wish to help the fixers. Beyond that you have a skill with crafting items through the use of animal parts, ranging from precious leather pouches to leather armor to weapons made of bone. While exceedingly primitive and low-tech, they are cheap and a byproduct of your work. Do not be surprised if a seasoned adventurer asks for your items.

Additionally, you have a selection of war beasts you can produce through the use of breeding that can be sold to others for protection. Theses sturdy creatures are favored assets when one can manage shepherding them through the tight confines of the lower dungeons. Though you rarely have need of them yourself, many would gladly pay for the added layer of guarding.

== Tips ==
* Grow a variety of produce, supply the fridge with meat, and spend the rest of your time making materials with animal parts.
* Cows supply meat and leather but in small amounts, you can get far more by butchering dangerous beasties.
* Your war beasts are powerful but only one can be assigned to a person at a time.

=== Unique Equipment ===
* Skinning Knife - Your specialty skinning knife makes for a very poor weapon, but easily butchers animals. Keep it in good condition and do not lose it, it cannot be replaced.

=== Advanced Tips ===
* Remind people that having a war beast tagging along can be an added level of logistical management.
* Your equipment is low tech but effective and cheap, pouches in particular are a high ticket item.
* Once you've grown enough produce, consider going hunting to get a surplus of meat and parts.
* Your best equipment requires rare animal parts that only you can cut from a dead beasts, since bodies decay swiftly, that means you will need to hunt it yourself.

<br>
<br>
{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]

Roles

2023-11-30T01:01:43Z

HOUND: /* Ashwood Syndicate */

<div class="noprint" style="background-color:#FAFAFA; position:fixed; bottom:2%; left:0.25%; padding:0; margin:0;">
[[#top|Back to Top]]
</div>
Your '''Job''' is what you are assigned to do. It defines what equipment you start with, your ID card access, and what you're actually supposed to be doing.

Some useful links:
* [[Character Creation]]
* [[Safe Zone Factions]]
* [[Standard Operating Procedure]]
* [[Guides]]
* [[Tips]]
* [[Relays]]

You should also read up about [[Laws]], so you know your rights, and [[Standard Operating Procedure]] so you know what you should usually do.

Due to the safe zone's open recruitment principle, you might encounter some interesting new [[Core Races|Races]] working alongside you.

== Breakers ==

{| style="background-color:#EEEEEF;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:#0b60e8;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:#0b60e8;" |Role
! style="background-color:#0b60e8;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Hammerlord]]
|The hammerlord serves as the head of office of the local regiment of the breakers. The breakers are contracted to protect the safe zone, working between the position of mercenaries and an order of knights. Your main objective is to maintain the law and safety of the safe zone, intervening when the agreement is breached and handling disputes between factions, freeblades, and outsiders. Secondarily, you lead your men into delving into the dungeons below, slaying monsters and collecting supplies for both yourselves and your fellow factions.
!Colossal
|-
![[Master of the Forge]]
|The master of the forge is the right hand of the hammerlord and the defacto controller of the armory. The master of the forge has the primary role of improving, modifying, and otherwise making weapons and armor better. Your job will often call you to use your forge to enchant or improve the armor and melee weapons of your breakers or create modifications for tools. Since your duties often keep you within the breaker's bunker, you will also be expected to process and manage prisoners, ranging from collecting fines to moving prisoners in and out. When the breakers do not need you, you can offer your services to the other factions for money and materials for your forge. You answer to the hammerlord, but if he leaves the bunker, you'll be expected to manage everything in his stead.
!Soul-Crushing
|-
![[Sledge]]
|The sledges serves as the closest thing to law and order that the safe zone has, positioned somewhere between a guard and knight-errant. Your primary job is to act as an enforcer for each faction, ensuring crime is kept to a minimum and intervening when someone violates the agreement. Your secondary job is being a walking tank of steel and armor, able to move swiftly into hundreds of pounds of armor that lets you absorb blows that would kill lesser men. When not actively aiding dungeon divers, you act as a guard, carrying a big stick and letting the thunder of your boots and swings from your hammer speak for you.
!Medium
|-
![[Ashman]]
|The ash men form the base of the breaker's marksmen, they make up the wall of guns between the safe zone and external hazards. While much of the safe zone is enclosed hallways, your rifle is the backbone of the breaker's defensive lines, with every hall being a potential kill zone. Tactics and teamwork are vital, you carry incredibly powerful guns and need to pick your shots carefully, from sniping down long halls to point blank shotgun surgery. When no active threats are going on, your most common job is aiding your fellow breakers and dungeon divers with your powerful firearms. Though you are easily the most powerfully equipped in the breakers, remember that ammunition is expensive and extremely rare to find. Make every bullet count.
!Hard
|-
![[Firebrand]]
|The firebrands represent the moving of the times, being men of the frontier and scouts who use only the most advanced form of six-shooters. Like the ashmen, firebrands are equipped with two firearms, a custom designed revolver and a magical pistol that fires exceptionally deadly gouts of flame. Unlike the ashmen and to a lesser extent the sledges, firebrands favor mobility over entrenched positions and heavy armor, giving them a knack for leaping and dodge rolling. While a crack shot with your pistols, the main purpose of the firebrands is to act as scouts and performing reconnaissance in dangerous locations, often working with small teams or alone. In times of peace, you are a guard like any other breaker, enforcing the agreement and maintaining the safe zones peace.
!Medium
|}

== Ashwood Syndicate ==

{| style="background-color:#FFFFDD;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:orange;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:orange;" |Role
! style="background-color:orange;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Merchant]]
|The merchant is responsible for the current operations of the Ashwood, maintaining a thriving economy through their various shops. Your main objective, bluntly, is to make as much money as you can. Purchase and acquire goods, and sell them on for a profit. Your fixers will handle most of the grunt work and your hospitality employees will provide drinks and food. They are capable - utilize them well. The clockwork vendors found through out the safe zone are operated by your company, earning you profits, be sure to keep an eye on them. There is a market for contraband and more unscrupulous services. Venturing into this area may prove profitable, but comes with risk. Lastly, you should always be considering what your fellow syndicate members needs for their jobs, such as supplying the kitchen with greens or fixers with materials.
!Complicated
|-
![[Penumbra]]
|The penumbra is an enforcer for the Ashwood Syndicate, relying on their innate skills and knowledge to keep the syndicate in working order. While you technically answer only to Boss Yaga, you are expected to follow the direct orders of the merchant during day to day operations. The skills of a penumbra make them an excellent at picking locks and killing specific targets, but that is considered secondary to your main job. When not helping the merchant the penumbra is expected to aid the breakers and the general populace as an investigator, using their shadowy talents to keep and observant eye on things. Aiding you is your team of agents who answer to you and only you, you must guide them in assisting others be it as detectives or dungeoneers. Though you are largely independent, your primary goal should be to always aid the members of the Syndicate, be they your agents or otherwise.
!Complex
|-
![[Fixer]]
|When it comes to making money the heart and soul of the syndicate's wealth comes from its fixers, providing services to any and all. Your primary job is multipurpose, fixers can tend to the bar and kitchen, manage the supply depot, and provide a variety of crafting services. At the bar, you serve drinks and talk with patrons, offering specific drinks and foods while talking about the day to day. In the kitchen you cook exotic and specific meals for patrons, using your supply of secret spices to do it better than anyone else. From the supply depot your the main supplier of expensive guns, ammunitions, and otherwise supplies, working as the middleman between customers and the Ashwood's storage depot. Finally, as a fixer you know a variety of different crafts, letting you expertly modify, fix, restore, and create all manner of tools, weapons, and even firearms to both trade and sell.
!Busy
|-
![[Agent]]
|Agents are a group of clandestine employees hired by the Ashwood Syndicate to act as investigators, dungeon explorers, and at rare times assassins. Your primary job as an agent is to keep crime to a minimum in the safe zone, investigating crimes and working with the breakers to imprison those who violate the agreement. When not working as a gumshoe, you have a wide variety of talents useful to dungeoneers, such as being able to unlock chests and doors. To further aid you in supporting others, you are well equipped to perform lethal backstabs with your daggers, executing enemies with ease provided you can get behind them. You also have access to a special laboratory, giving you a wide selection of methods to investigate potential crimes. Unlike other members of the Ashwood, you answer only to the penumbra, who answers directly to Boss Yaga.
!Medium
|-
![[Beast Master]]
|Beast matters derive their name from the animals they manage, be it chickens and cows for the kitchen or more volatile beasts meant to aid in keeping the safe zone secure. The beast masters primary duty is tending to their many animals, breeding fighting beasts for any willing to buy one and farming those meant for food. Your second duty is using left over animal parts to make higher quality equipment out of lower quality materials, ranging from leather armor to bone forged weapons. You know a fair bit about farming to aid in tending to your animals, so you will often be supplying the kitchen with meats and greens. Finally you are an expert in the bodies and anatomy of monsters and creatures, letting you find additional useful, rare, and potentially valuable parts when butchering them. All in all, you are the wild man of the safe zone, trying to make use of the nature and ecology in the closed ecosystem of Hammerfall.
!Easy
|}

== Ascendant ==
{| style="background-color:#EEEEFF;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:#DDA0DD;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:#DDA0DD;" |Role
! style="background-color:#DDA0DD;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Exalted]]
|The exalted is the chief magi of the ascendant, directing all the lantern bearers, psions, and brass hearts within the safe zone. The exalteds main purpose is directing the rune masters and rosaria to supply other residents with magical items and magical healing. The exalted also has access to the ascendants vast resources of wealth, giving them the ability to broker deals to keep their magi supplied. Your work is often misunderstood, as you and your speaker are the only ones able to use the weaving chambers, which provide numerous enchantments to the body directly. Of course, you are a powerful magi in your own right, and should support your fellows in any way they need, be it buying supplies or direct magical aid. The speaker is also your direct assistant and, more than likely, closest associate. You are expected not only to work closely with them, but get along.
!Very Hard
|-
![[Speaker]]
|The speaker is the exalted's right hand man and functions as an advisor and assistant. Your main purpose is to accompany the exalted and provide whatever aid they need, be it working at the weaving stations or direct protection. While the exalted functions more as a face and benefactor, you are more directly concerned with the day-to-day operations of the ascendant. When not working directly with the exalted, you should be assisting anyone who can make use of your skills. Just like the exalted, you have access to the weaving machines, allowing you to research and create various enchantments.
!Hard
|-
![[Rune Master]]
|The rune master is a magical researcher and creator, capable of creating and using runes to forge magical items. While rune masters are most known for creating magical items and weapons, you also maintain the safe zones power grid and structural integrity. Like a primitive engineer and archtitect, rune masters repair and fix parts of the safe zone to prevent them from fully breaking down. When not doing repairs, rune masters run the arcane lab where they produce all manners of interesting and useful magical items. Lastly, you have access to the golem manufactorum, where various golems and golem accessories are produced, ranging from magical armors to autonomous servants.
!Medium
|-
![[Rosaria]]
|The rosaria is a professional medic and surgeon dedicated to healing the sick and injured, at all costs. A broad range of medical procedures fall under your purview - diagnostics, general treatment, surgery, and magical healing. What cannot be fixed using spells can be done with alchemy or surgery, giving you a wide variety of treatment options. In addition to healer, you are also an alchemist, with a fully stocked and capable alchemy lab that allows you to refine natural chemicals into powerful medicines. While secondary to your main goal, the rosaria also has access to industrial farming equipment so you may harvest raw healing chemicals to further refine.
!Hard
|-
![[Seeker]]
|The seeker is the rank and file of the ascendants magical fighters, those capable of supprt through rune lanterns or fighting with psionics. While you are by no means a heavy hitter or front liner like someone from the ashwood or breakers, as a seeker you provide magical aid through various methods. This includes summoning daemons, creating undead minions, giving party wide enchantments, or providing range support via spells and psionics abilities. Additionally, you are one of the few people capable of disarming magical traps, making you a valued asset for dungeon divers. Lastly, you also make up the main security force for the ascendant, using your spells to defend and protect everyone within.
!Easy
|}

== Freeblades ==
{| style="background-color:#8b8c8f;" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
! style="background-color:#646566;" width="200" |Job
! style="background-color:#646566;" |Role
! style="background-color:#646566;" width="100" |Difficulty
|-
![[Resident]]
|The ideal newcomer role. You have no official position within Hammerfall or are simply off duty. You will not be paid a wage.<br>
Where did you come from? Why are you here? These things are up to you.<br>
<br>
Perhaps you're a new arrival, who had no other options but to come here willingly. What are you seeking, or what are you running from?<br>
Perhaps you're with one of the main factions, having followed your leader during their banishment?<br>
Perhaps you're a former prisoner, ready to join these upstart gangs that made the safe zone. What was your crime?<br>
Perhaps you're an enemy of the empire, condemned here for your crimes against the nation?<br>
Perhaps you're a known resident, just taking time off to enjoy yourself?<br>
<br>
Your story is yours to write. What matters is that you're here now - find some purpose.<br>
To form connections, strive to help out anyone you can. Or at least, anyone who offers you a paying job.<br>
Find a way to make money, stay out of trouble, and survive.
!Easiest
|-
![[Prospector]]
|The prospector is a professional resource procurer, acquiring valuable minerals for anyone willing to pay. Your primary responsibility is to descend into the deep tunnels and dig up as much ore as you can. Accessed by portal, the magical teleporter can take you deep underground to mine and scavenge whatever you can. Whatever you dig up is yours to do with as you please, from selling, hoarding, or bartering it at your discretion. Pack well and consider teaming up with other prospectors or hiring a few toughs to defend you while you work, prospectors disappear all the time.
!Medium
|-
![[Gardener]]
|The gardener toils in their personal gardens - utilizing seeds, tools, and fertilizers to grow bountiful crops. More talented gardeners may dip into ranching. Your paddocks contain a few chickens and a cow. More exotic animals can be acquired from the beast master or ascendants. You are the go-to expert for flora destruction - use shovels and hatchets. Remember that your goods come at a price, and more exotic crops can command a higher price.
!Easy
|-
![[Jester]]
|The jester serves as a versatile performance artist here to entertain residents. You may find your fellows distracted by boring duties or senseless bickering, so work hard to bring them some real culture. As a freeblade, you make next to nothing on your paycheck, consider selling your various items and bits of art for money. Unlike others who are inspired, you instead use your inspiration at your work bench to create wondrous works of art that have a variety of uses.
!Random
|-
![[Custodian]]
|The lowly custodian, well paid but rarely respected, nevertheless provides a valuable service. You will trundle around the safe zone, armed with your trusty janicart full of cleaning supplies, disposing of trash and pests. Some minor maintenance also falls within your duties. Fix broken braziers, correct broken vendors, replace floor tiles - ease the rune master's burden. You are as well paid as most faction leaders, each one giving a portion of your income so you can keep the safe zone spotless.
!Easy
|}

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{{Roles}}
[[Category: Roles]]