Age of Iron: Event 2 !

This summer, Age of Iron will come to an end. It's been quite the ride, but now everything is heading towards a truly explosive conclusion. The players still have ten more weeks to make their influence felt, so we can't say for sure what is going to happen. However it goes down, it's going to be awesome, and I don't use that word lightly!

Dates and details for crew bookings can be found here. 

That's for crew bookings. If you're a player, it will cost a little more than £10. Yes that's right, crewing just costs ten pounds, including transport from York, access to the site, and food, glorious food. Anyway, player forms will come out with player prices over the next few weeks.

People having fun at the last event!

Term 5: The Great Game!

Luxantium was once the Jewel of the World. Those days have long passed. Five years ago, a wall of water and fire swept across the fertile plains, destroying this proud empire. A population of millions was reduced to a few hundred in a single day. 

Across Kairos, the few Luxantines who had been abroad at the time of the deluge tried to find a new way of life. Many rallied to repopulate their devastated nation, working with the people of Magna Thule restore their fallen glory.

Built on the ruins of the Thulian embassy of Legatio, the fresh city of Nova Legatio held even more promise than the average colony. The liberal ideologies of Thulian citizenry encouraged marginalised Luxantines to make the voices heard. The passion of the Luxantines to retake their home offered extra vigour and purpose. Those of less idealistic intent were drawn by the lure of Luxantine riches, waiting in the ruins for any who found them. The fall of Amon Tor and Magna Thule sent refugees to the city, creating the world's most diverse population. As the rest of the world buckled under the blows of warfare and cataclysm, Nova Legatio seemed set to rise to greatness.

A Luxantine noble ordered the building of a gingerbread mansion... with predictable results!

Fresh from their victories against the abyssal forces assailing Magna Thule, the Adventurers of the Golden Grain sailed to Nova Legatio. They came to challenge the Gedrosi Family, who had begun extending their oppressive influence across all Kairos. They found a city holding its breath, waiting for the delicate balance of power to fall one way or another into a stable future.

Opening diplomatic communications with the Gedrosi, the adventurers came to understand the complexity of this political landscape. The lands of Luxantium were still swamped in chaos. Hector Amanus, first king and founder of Luxantium, had risen from the dead to reclaim his empire. Helena Amanus, surviving heir to the throne, moved through the wilderness, gathering forces to defeat the Gedrosi family. The feuding clans of the Gedrosi mountains had moved to exploit the cleared lands. Luxantine nobles resorted to less than legal methods to restore their towns. Luxantine surfs fought for better rights in this new nation. Crime gangs faced off against each other, waiting for the opportunity to strike. Senatorial election campaigns brought out the firebrands and True Believers.  

And as all these tensions boiled, the adventurers discovered a new threat; not just to the city, but to all life on the planet. The scions of a dead God were descending to carry their progenitor back into the stars. These Immortals studied Kairos, and drew their plans for conquest.

Against these odds, the adventurers entered the great game of politics and diplomacy. They aimed to unite all the people of the land against this greater threat, that when the Immortals descended they would find the people of Kairos a worthy adversary. 

When it came to the Crunch, everything fell apart. The elections gave the Luxantines a block vote on the Senate. Helena believed this would ensure the support of Nova Legatio as she moved against the Gedrosi. The adventurers came to Gedrosi's aid to protect the new treaty between their peoples. The crime gangs took advantage of the moment to take out their rivals. Nobles and Republicans brought violent end to their tensions. 

A night of riots and insurgence burnt out as quickly as it began. As the dust settled, everyone took the time to find their feet anew. The adventurers had kept the Gedrosi alive, but the Senate had been implicated in their attempted assassinations. With the Luxantine Sheriffs under investigation, Thulian and Gedrosi armed forces stepped in to keep the peace. 

With stability restored to Nova Legatio, the adventurers left the city in the Gedrosi's capable hands. Now, they return to Fort Petronia, to prepare their homeland for the galactic war that is about to break across the planet...    

Term 4: Heart of Darkness!

For one thousand years, Magna Thule held strong against the abyss. For one thousand years, the people looked to their God to save them from the void, and for one thousand years divine Acacius answered their prayers. For one thousand years, the land of the free offered liberty and justice to the people of Kairos; a safe refuge in an otherwise benighted world. 

Then the grain failed. Hysteria swept the nation as food supplies grew thin. Riots broke out. Magistrates tried to keep the peace. The legions saw the chain of command crumbling around them and found their loyalties divided. The demons rose to tear civilisation down. Those who could, fled to the colonies. Those who could not were left to scratch savage living from the chaos. 

Into the carnage strode the adventurers of Fort Petronia. They took back the southern ports, creating a safe refuge for the people fleeing to the coast. They rallied the holy orders to hold the line against the abyss and began the great push to retake the fallen capital.

As they marched north, they gathered news of Calidon's fate. They encountered the vanguard of the Harvesters, militant fanatics who had taken the city in the name of their God. For they claimed Acacius had arisen, and walked amid the carnage separating the wheat from the chaff.

So the adventurers gathered on the Fields of Blood, where one thousand years before Acacius had sown the first grain. There they met God, flanked by armies of His Harvestors, and waged war against Him.

And as the dust did clear, the adventurers stood as survivors of the war. They had survived the death of their God, but whether they were truly victorious that day remains to be seen...

Escape From The Ruins Of Magna Thule!

Last summer, we had an event! It was a cheeky, cheery occasion, sharing the title of this post. The adventurers sought to evacuate their homeland as civilisation crumbled around them. Fun times!

Here are some photos!

We are beginning to plan the next event, which will mark the end of Age of Iron. As this system is entirely player-led, we have no idea what is going to happen. Will the players be trying to save the world against overwhelming odds? Or will they be fighting a desperate last-stand as civilisation crumbles around them? Whatever happens, it's going to be pretty spectacular, so you should come along and help us crew the event!

Amon War 3: No Matter The Cost!

Lost in enemy territory, assailed from every side, still the adventurers fought on. The resistance forces beneath Thalimani were purged, the mountain paths travelled by Kullasi's forces collapsed and barred. Even the armies of Enos, led by Theodulous himself, were crushed and their champion slain.

The Thulian army pushed on to Enos, only to find the city in chaos. The Troll fleet had arrived just a few hours earlier, but already their forces were razing the city. Prince Yorgos, having returned from the Savannah, had raised the ancestors of the empire to defend their children. The adventurers cut a bloody path through the dead, but could do little to stop the rampaging Trolls. With the Kullasi army gaining on their position, the Thulian forces prepared themselves to fight a final battle against the background of destruction.

The adventurers, meanwhile, joined with Troglodyte rebels to move to Amon Tor's capital and strike their enemy one last, killing blow.

So it was that the servants of Voras fell. The planting of an experimental explosive device destroyed the Great Pyramid, sending a rain of bricks and stones smashing through the neighbouring cities of Polykarpos and Nekropolis. Prince Yorgos gathered the faithful for one final act of defiance, while Amon Tor turned to his dark magics to win the day. Still the adventurers thwarted their efforts, sending them reeling to the Maw of the Wyrm.

Here, amid the grand temple of Voras, the adventurers of the Golden Grain fought to end the war once and for all. No quarter was asked and none was given, the dead prophets bodies ripped to shreds and scattered to the winds. As the remaining armies of Amon Tor descended on their position, the adventurers escaped through the Maw, returning to the Great Savannah, and the safety of their own lines.

With the enemy leaders dead and their empire devastated, it would seem the worst of the war is over. Yet Amonian troops still lie scattered across the plains, lives uprooted by the war have yet to find peace, and the consequences of this conflict looks set to be carried down through the ages.

Now the adventurers have time to relax and celebrate, for Fort Petronia is safe again...

But for how long? 

Amon War 2: Retaliation!

The lands around Fort Petronia have been secured, but the adventurers have not come through the battles unscathed. Many have fallen before the relentless armies of Amon Tor; and so it was with heavy hearts that the adventurers set out to take the fight to the enemy.

Heading east across the Troll Isles, the adventurers called to the Jarls, Thanes, and Forge-Twisters of the Thyngsburg to join them in their crusade. While minions of Amon Tor sought to prevent this union, the adventurers quickly exposed these snakes in the grass. The Trolls rallied to the invocation of ancient oaths and swore to fight by the adventurers' sides. 

Beyond the Isles, further plans were put in place. Some thousand Thulian legionaries and comparable numbers of Vulcasauri warriors assembled to strike at the very heart of the empire. Their mission; to draw the attention of Amon Tor back to his own lands, forcing him to pull his elite troops away from the Savannah and its strained defenders. 

The initial assaults have proven successful. Amon Tor's western defences have been overcome. Contact has been established with insurgents ready to rise against the empire from within. Key personnel have been imprisoned and executed. The strike-force has even moved to take the city of Thalimani, western gate-way to the imperium.

Yet war rarely runs smoothly. The military forces of Thalimani have gone to ground, preparing to fight a guerilla war against the invading army. The cities of Enos and Kullasi have both sent forces to liberate their neighbour. Biological warfare threatens to weaken the Vulcasauri forces, and the legionaries are disappearing for reasons unknown. 

Until these matters are resolved, Amon Tor has little reason to slow his assault of the Great Savannah. Thulian victory is anything but certain, but if anyone can prevail against such odds, it is the adventurers of the Golden Grain!

Amon WAR!

Wells have been poisoned. The Palaces of Praesidium and Magistrates have come under attack. Enemy agents have been whittling down a hit-list of key individuals. Fires have spread panic through the city. All lines of communication with Magna Thule have been cut. A naval blockade prevents both reinforcement and escape.

Amon Tor has declared war on Fort Petronia.

Amon Tor's forces were quick to take advantage of the chaos. A swarm of tar-beasts flooded through Arvum, while a circle of arcane stones allowed for the materialisation of troops right outside Fort Petronia. 

The adventurers of the Golden Grain were quick to respond. Travelling to Arvum, they found and destroyed the monolith animating the tar. Outside of Petronia, they met the champion Theodulous in battle and halted the advance of his troops; albeit at great cost.

With the first wave repelled, Fort Petronia has begun preparing for the coming months. The laisaurs of the Vulcasauri lands and Tetlco have declared their allegiance with Thule, as have the troglodytes of Drak'hod Sruth. The adventurers are attempting to bring others into the conflict, while at the same time continuing the fight against tyranny. 

Will the adventurers prevail? Or will Amon Tor extend his rule across the whole continent? Only time will tell...