Welcome to Meet the Party, where you can find an entire group of ready-to-play adventurers (maybe even some heroes) for your gaming needs for a variety of systems and settings!

This particular group joins us from the Iron Kingdoms of Western Immorren, characters from the Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy Roleplaying Game by Privateer Press.

When it comes to character creation there are two things that stand out the most: the career system and the optional adventuring company concept. After choosing a race and an archetype (Gifted, Mighty, Intellectual, or Skilled) a character doesn’t just choose a single class: they choose two Careers and gain the benefits of both. A player thus has a lot more options that it might seem: a Soldier-Highwayman is a very different character from a Soldier-Aristocrat.

The adventuring company concept is indeed an optional one, but very compelling. Rather than the old ‘you all met in a tavern’ excuse for being a party, if the players choose or create a company concept it gives them a pre-made reason for knowing one another, as well as a number of benefits from the concept. It provides the party with resources or extra skills, the characters with a reason for being together, and the GM with a solid plot seed from which to create a campaign.

For this Party, a concept has been chosen: Heroes of the Resistance!

Where They Are

The Kingdom of Llael was once a shining beacon of civilization, the home to great wealth and the center of alchemy in the Iron Kingdoms. But over the centuries warfare, internecine court intrigue, and greedy bureaucracy badly weakened the nation. Her army was small, her steam-powered warjacks out of date, and her nobles corrupt. It was perhaps inevitable then that the Khadoran Empire was able to easily invade and crush the country’s defenses, despite assistance from Llael’s traditional ally, the Kingdom of Cygnar.

Sections of Llael deemed too cost-inefficient to conquer were left free, and even within the occupied territory resistance sprang up almost as soon as the Llaelese flag fell. But attempts to gain assistance from the Protectorate of Menoth backfired: the Northern Crusade of the Menite zealots ‘liberated’ the city of Leryn, with Resistance help, only to keep it for themselves. Now Llael stands divided three ways, and the dream of a Llael restored seems ever dimmer and far away.

Enter the party, a cell of the Llaelese Resistance operating in the formal capital of Merywyn, now firmly under Khadoran control.

Godwyn di Perth, Llaelese Warcaster/Gun  Mage of the Amethyst Rose

Race: Human (Exceptional Potential, Language: Llaelese, Language: Cygnaran)

Physique (PHY): 5   Speed (SPD): 7   Strength (STR): 4

Agility (AGL): 4   Prowess (PRW): 4

Poise (POI): 5   Intellect (INT): 3   Arcane (ARC): 3

Perception (PER): 3   Defense (DEF): 14

Initiative: 14   Armor (ARM): 10   Willpower (WIL): 8

Archetype: Gifted (Focuser)(Starting Benefit: Combat Caster)

Starting Abilities: Bond

Starting Military Skills: Hand Weapon 1, Pistol 2

Starting Occupational Skills: Command 1, Detection 2, Intimidation 1, Sneak 1

Starting Connections: Loyal Order of the Amethyst Rose, Llaelese Resistance

Starting Spells: Blur, Twister, Occultation, Rune Shot: Accuracy, Rune Shot: Brutal

Starting Assets: Light Warcaster Armor, 3 Gold Coins, Ammo Bandolier, Dual Magelock (with powder and ten rounds of ammunition), Pistol (with powder and five rounds of ammunition) Rune Shot Casting Kit

A crack shot with a pistol is bad enough to be targeted by; a crack shot with a pistol whose bullets are magical is even worse. Godwyn can layer devastating Rune Shot spells on the bullets of his Dual Magelock, while his other spells increase defenses, block line of sight, or improve stealth. His armor, the steam-powered trademark of a warcaster, provides him with a power field that makes him hardier than his ARM might imply. He maintains a simple single shot pistol for targets not worth expending Rune Shots on. Godwyn also represents great potential for the party in that he has the ability to control the massive steam-powered warjacks, premier weapons of war in the Iron Kingdoms, providing that the party can get their hands on some.

Valeria Jast, Stormblade/Man-At-Arms

Race: Human  (Exceptional Potential, Language: Cygnaran, Language: Llaelese)

PHY: 7   SPD: 6   STR: 5   AGL: 3

PRW: 5   POI: 4   INT: 3   PER: 3

DEF: 9   Initiative: 14   ARM: 16   WIL: 10

Archetype: Mighty (Starting Benefit: Counter Charge)

Starting Abilities: Blaster, Specialization (Storm Glaive), Defensive Line, Shield Guard

Starting Military Skills: Great Weapon 2, Shield 1, Hand Weapon 1

Starting Occupational Skills: Command 2, Detection 2, Etiquette 1, Sneak 1

Starting Connections: Cygnaran Military, Llaelese Resistance

Starting Assets: Storm Glaive, Storm Knight Armor, Custom Battle Armor, Shield, Spear, 5 GC

Valeria is the solid wall of the party, easy to hit but extremely difficult to actually take down. She’s outright immune to electrical attacks in her Storm Knight Armor, which is good because there will be lightning shooting everywhere when she swings or fires her Storm Glaive. Being a Man-at-Arms means she can protect those around her, and her Counter Charge ability means anyone closing with the party will have to survive a hit from her first. She’s authoritative and sharp-eyed and she knows a little about polite society, but she has also had to learn to be discrete. Speaking to that, the arms and armor of a Stormblade are very distinctive, so she has some backup gear for missions where being obviously Cygnaran is ill-advised. The stats above still reflect her abilities while wearing her Storm Knight armor.

Lokvi, Guttersnipe/Spy

Race: Gobber (Racial Benefits: +1 DEF, Deft, Language: Gobberish, Language: Llaelese)

PHY: 4   SPD: 6   STR: 3   AGL: 4

PRW: 5   POI: 3   INT: 4   PER: 4

DEF: 14   Initiative: 15   ARM: 9   WIL: 8

Archetype: Intellectual (Starting Benefit: Hyper Perception)

Starting Abilities: Lost in the Crowd, Low Breeding, Perfect Timing, Battle Plan: Perfect Shadow, Cover Identity, Language (Cygnaran)

Starting Military Skills: Thrown Weapon 2

Starting Occupational Skills: Deception 2, Escape Artist 1, Sneak 2, Streetwise 1, Command 1, Detection 1, Disguise 1, Cryptography 1

Starting Connections: Black Market, Connections (Cygnaran Reconnaissance Service), Llaelese Resistance

Starting Assets: 25 GC,  Armored Great Coat, Forged Identity Papers, Throwing Knife x5, Grenade (Smoke) x2, Grenade (Explosive) x2, Alchemical Grenade (Rust Bomb)

Someone needs to be the brains of the operation, and Lokvi’s your gobber for the job. Lying, sneaking about, breaking codes, working the streets, all of these are valuable skills for a resistance movement. Lokvi has connections with the criminal underworld, but he’s also in touch with Cygnar’s intelligence organization, so he’s the best source of resources and information the party has access to without burdening the Resistance itself. If all the tricks and fast-talk don’t work Lokvi turns out to be a deft hand with throwing knives with a penchant for grenades when things get really desperate.

Bres Larisar, Urban Nomad/Duelist

Race: Nyss (Racial Benefits: +1 Initiative and PER rolls, +3 ARM vs Cold, -3 ARM vs Fire, Language: Aeric, Language: Llaelese)

PHY: 5   SPD: 6   STR: 5   AGL: 5

PRW: 4   POI: 4   INT: 3   PER: 4

DEF: 14   Initiative: 14   ARM: 10   WIL: 8

Archetype: Skilled (Starting Benefit: Defensive Strike)(Urban Nomad Benefit: Preternatural Awareness)

Starting Abilities: Adaptable [Urban], Parry, Riposte

Starting Military Skills: Archery 1, Great Weapon 1, Hand Weapon 1, Pistol 1

Starting Occupational Skills: Climbing 1, Jumping 1, Sneak 1, Survival 1, Gambling 1, Intimidation 1, Escape Artist 1

Starting Connections: Llaelese Resistance

Starting Assets: Nyss Claymore, Nyss Bow, Repeating Pistol (with powder and five rounds of ammunition),  Dagger, 8 GC, Armored Great Coat

Not even those born in a city are as able to navigate one as Bres Larisar who, as an Urban Nomad, has adapted to the rooftops and alleys of his new home. Opponents who try to reach Bres will have to dodge a swing from his blade before getting to attack, and missing Bres will result in the skilled Nyss taking yet another swing. At the same time the Duelist has little trouble slipping away from enemies he doesn’t want to engage. While still wielding his traditional weapons, Bres has worked to adapt to his new culture; he’ll be hard-pressed to find a weapon he isn’t capable of using with skill.

To build the above characters, several books were used: the Core Rulebook, the supplement Kings, Nations, and Gods, and the supplement No Quarter Presents: Urban Adventure. The Heroes of the Resistance company concept grants the entire party their Contacts: Llaelese Resistance, as well as an additional skill, and provides them with a safe-house within Merywyn.

Who They Are

The Warcasters of Llael were few to start, and the gun mages of the Order of the Amethyst Rose were a dying breed, with both shortages a result of greedy politicking in the high society of Llael. That Godwyn di Perth still lives after the fall of his nation is a testament to his skill and his comparatively good fortune. Still, he is a somber fellow, wearing the funerary garb of the Amethyst Rose to mourn the vanquished royal line of Llael and well aware that Llael’s fall had as much to do with corruption and treachery as Khadoran bombard fire. Despite that he does his best to maintain a determined outlook for the benefit of his cell, and refuses to abandon the back-alley fight in the capital to flee to the relatively safer Free Llael.

Cygnar did everything it could to help defend Llael, but when Khador assaulted Cygnar’s own borders her troops had no choice but to withdraw. Not everyone made it out, however, by choice or bad luck. Valeria Jast, having lost the rest of her unit in the Siege of Merywyn, either never received the order to withdraw or outright ignored it. A brave and stubborn woman, she views every victory of the Resistance as a blow that draws Khadoran strength away from her own homeland. She is military to the core, and provides a bastion of discipline often lacking in the ranks of the Resistance.

There was plenty of coin to be made in Llael before the invasion, particularly if you were a sharp-eyed gobber working in the intrigue business. Lokvi made his living stealing secrets and arranging deals for Llaelese nobles with too much money and paranoia, and was actually quite well-off. Then the Khadorans stomped in and mucked everything up. Lokvi lost the majority of his wealth and noble contacts during the war, and now he has a bone to pick with the occupiers. The Khadorans are too stingy anyway, and the Resistance are desperate enough to offer good prices.

To lose one homeland is a tragedy. To lose a second homeland is grounds for drawing your blade and taking your own back for a change. Such is the life of Bres Larisar. After many of the Nyss were slain or corrupted by the dragon Everblight the survivors fled south, settling in major cities from Khador to Cygnar. Bres was among them and stayed with his shard, or tribe, when they settled in the capital of Llael and did the best they could to survive. And then the Khadorans came. Several more members of Bres’s already ravaged shard were lost amid the fighting, and when the dust settled the Resistance had Bres fighting for their cause. Enough was enough, and this one Nyss would not flee one more step. And if fighting to free Llael made good practice for fighting the Legion of Everblight, well . . .

How They Interact

Godwyn is desperately appreciative of Valeria’s presence, as he misses the structure that even Llael’s army managed to provide, structure that she brings with her. The subject of Cygnar is a sore one between them, however, as Godwyn thinks the southern nation could have done more to help Llael. The warcaster doesn’t care much for Lokvi, as the gobber is a reminder of the corruption that ate away at Llael’s insides, but the information and resources Lokvi provides are invaluable. Bres is an oddity, as Godwyn had never met a Nyss before Bres, but they share a bond over their lost homelands.

Valeria has effectively chosen Godwyn as her superior officer and does her best to carry out orders from him within reason, but rumors of Cygnar coming under further attack sometimes test her willingness to remain in Llael. Lokvi is, ironically, the person she talks to the most. She was able to provide Lokvi with the initial contact information for the CRS, and the gobber now remains her greatest link to home. Bres is Valeria’s favored sparring partner within the cell, but Valeria often thinks that Bres is not focused enough on the mission at hand, melancholy about his lost northern home.

To Lokvi the Warcaster di Perth is just another Llaelese muckety-muck that he can make a coin off of. Admittedly not as much coin as the good old days, but there’s a decent bit to be made rifling through the pockets of dead Khadorans. Still, at least the motivation behind di Perth’s jobs aren’t as petty as the good old days. Valeria’s exactly the kind of friend Lokvi wants: big, strong, willing to smash people to keep him alive, and wanting something Lokvi can provide. Lokvi was actually the one to get Bres into the Resistance, and he considers the two to be bonded by their status as non-humans in a mostly human Llael.

Bres considers Godwyn’s quest to free Llael a noble one, with parallels to the Nyss being overrun by the Legion of Everblight. Still, Bres is just as aware as Godwyn that Llael was not perfect, and might insist on changes if the Resistance ever makes any progress. Valeria baffles Bres slightly; his own homeland is completely gone, but Valeria’s still stands. Why does she not go to it, as he would if given the chance? He tries to keep these thoughts quiet, too grateful for Valeria’s strength to risk insulting her. Lokvi is a curious being, oddly insistent that he and Bres are both paid for their efforts with little input from Bres on the matter. The gobber’s skill in the shadows is admirable, however, and Bres could learn much from him.

The Future

The Khadorans hunger for more conquests, and will stop at nothing to consolidate their grip on Llael so that they can use her resources to further their military’s efforts. The Northern Crusade, spurred on by their religious fervor, offer an alliance but aim to convert all to the worship of Menoth by steel and fire. Rumors from the countryside tell of undead Cryxians and their necrotech monstrosities ravaging the already war-torn land. Can Godwyn di Perth and his band of resistance fighters, survivors, and mercenaries bring the shining dream of a restored Llael to reality against these odds, or will the dream fade into nothing? That’s for you (and your dice) to determine!

Originally posted 2/13/15 on the Mad Adventurers Society!

Comments let me know that Godwyn being a Warcaster/Gun Mage would strain his resources a bit. Learning experience!