My Ironlands Truths:
This is a quick way to come up with some core assumptions for the game’s default setting. The book gives three options for every category here and invites you to make your own. Instead of making my own, I’m probably just going to make choices and tweak them later. I’m going to try and follow the advice from the rulebook and leave room for inspiration and surprises, so I don’t think I’ll make all decisions now, and I might shift or change some. I rewrote the text for these because I haven’t double-checked this game’s copyright, which already resulted in a little bit of customization.
The Old World:
Ecological disaster. The Old World could no longer sustain us, and from scarcity came conflict. We fought each other for what remained, and some of us launched ships and came to what we now call the Ironlands to settle and rebuild. I think this will probably change. A core assumption of the setting, no matter the choices given in this category, is a settler-colonial story, and I’m not sure what I want to do with that.
Iron
The land is dotted with strange iron gray pillars, smooth monoliths. Nobody knows what they are for, and many tales are told - some say they were always there. The Iron Priests worship them and swear vows upon them. Most don’t truck with them. They never tarnish and cannot be marked. This question is about why the lands are named the Ironlands, and this answer piqued my interest the most. You also get a cool weird organization, the Iron Priests.
Legacies
Not sure what to do here, so I’ll leave it for now. This question has to do with who was here before the current Ironlanders - are we the first to come to this peninsula? Did some of us try to settle here “untold years ago” and fall into “savagery?” Are there ancient remains of a people long forgotten?
Communities
Communities are called circles, and they may range from a few families in size to villages of a few hundred. Some circles are nomadic, and voyage across regions and maybe even between them. Circles might band together to form political confederacies, and various circles may trade and feud with each other. This question is about how populated the Ironlands are, and what the infrastructure is like. I picked a middle option that appealed to me because it reminded me of the society from Ursula Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness.
Leadership
Leadership ranges widely, from insular family governance to a council of respected elders, to a theocracy of religious leaders, to authoritarian single rule by patriarchal family tradition, to village assemblies where everyone has their say. What political arrangement predominates? The option that’s most varied seems the most fun for me.
Defense
This one is about how organized the fighting forces are in the Ironlands. Not sure about this one. The options are, basically: village defense; a wandering warden system with ronin for hire; or organized warbands that hearken back to the Old World.
Mysticism
Not many can wield powers of magic that can reshape or transform reality. Those who can are rare and gifted, or truly cursed. How rare is magic? I chose the middle option.
Religion
Maybe some still pay homage to the old gods out of tradition, but most believe the gods have abandoned us. How strong is religious belief and how present are the gods?
Firstborn
Who was here before? It seems like the default assumptions are: elves, giants, and suchlike. I’m going to leave this because adding this element would make this strongly colonial and I’m not sure how much of that I want to dial in.
Beasts
How much of a menace are mythical, dangerous beasts? Feeling like this should either be set to the middle or turned up high.
Horrors
Beyond the circle of light cast by your hearthfire, or the village bonfire, out in the woods or in the deep, dark ocean, lurk things that Ironlanders cannot truly ken. If you voyage between settled places and take risky journeys, you do so at your peril. The White Wolf/Walking Dead dial. How apocalyptic is the horror that surrounds us? I picked the middle setting.