Iron Kingdoms: Trollkin Unleashed! (Inactive)

Game Master Mark Sweetman

Greetings Paizo-board-ites,

Relatively recently Privateer Press increased their offerings in the Iron Kingdoms RPG world by releasing Unleashed - which adds the monstrous Hordes extension into the Full Metal Fantasy RPG system that was built off of Warmachine. When I grabbed the PDF for same it rekindled my interest in running an RPG campaign in the steampunky rollicking world of Western Immoren.

I attempted a PbP previously here when Iron Kingdoms first became available but it was a fail partially due to my lack of a digital version of the rules. However now that the ruleset is available as a PDF from Drivethroughrpg that shouldn't be a concern.

So... here we are :)

Pitch:

This will be a mercenary / bandit based campaign set in Western Immoren. The central conceit will be a group of tribe members seeking out an estranged member of their Kriel / tribe to inform them of the terrible REDACTED that's occurred.
This will allow for characters to be built from both the Full Metal Fantasy system (those who are initially out in the world) as well as Unleashed (those who have left the tribe to seek out the estranged member/s).
A few other points:

• I like Trollkin and would lean heavily towards having them (inclusive of Pygs) as the majority race.
  
• I would prefer to not include either Warcasters or Warlocks initially.
  
• My ambitions will start small, and grow from there if we start rolling along well. As in, it'll start off with small scale skirmishy survival style play before trying to introduce wider themes at a later stage after we've gotten some system mastery down.
  
• Final group building would be carried out in the Discussion thread after we've parsed to a group of like-minded folks.
  
• This will still essentially be my first IK RPG PbP, so it'll be bumpy and slow for a while.

What Now?

If any of the above has tickled your fancy... then pop into the thread and say so. I'm essentially looking for expressions of interest and character leanings before looking to collaboratively build the characters up in the Discussion thread (c/w additional notes and guidelines).

So:

• Do you have the books / PDFs? - if so, do you have just the original Core book, or Unleashed as well?
  
• What sort of character would you like to play?
  
• Would you be happy with a Trollkin centric PbP? - if not, then which racial /social group would you prefer to build around? (ie. Blackclads, Farrow, etc)
  
• Which geographical / political areas of Western Immoren are your favorite and why? - do you like Khador, Cygnar, Five Fingers, etc.
  
• Any other questions for me?

Note for emphasis - this is a PbP using the new IK RPG ruleset which was released by Privateer Press in the last few years, and not using the older D20 ruleset.

I love the Iron Kingdoms, they are one of my favorite settings and I can't get my group interested enough to play the system with me.

I have both books. I'd probably not be playing a Gifted character, I find the archetype kind of boring, I like what Skilled or Intellectual can get you. Perhaps some kind of lead by example swashbuckler type like Shae or Ashlynn?

I honestly prefer to be able to use different races, I think it's a bit restrictive to be all the same race. It would be kind of cool if we were some kind of nomad tribe of misfits from assorted races. BUT if we were to be a single race I would prefer Nyss, Trollkin or Human.

Western Immoren, I really like Llael and Ord, even if Llael is occupied.

For clarity I wouldn't require all characters to be single race - just that the centric tribe would be near single source (ie. a Kriel for the Trollkin example).

So on the Unleashed side you could still be a friendly gatorman / orphaned farrow / etc. Or on the Full Metal side it could be an Ogryn mercenary / Gobbo scout / etc.

Mild bump for visibility.

Hi DM-VotV

I played Milo Dresden in your original game and would love the chance to bring him back to your new one!

*Waves* - if you could chime in on the other questions as well that'd be helpful.

I do like Iron Kingdoms.

Do you have the books / PDFs? - if so, do you have just the original Core book, or Unleashed as well?
I have the Core book but can buy Unleashed w/o hesitation.

What sort of character would you like to play?
Gatorkin or Trollkin, Gifted or Skilled, maybe with a Cyriss obsession or bokor?

Would you be happy with a Trollkin centric PbP? - if not, then which racial /social group would you prefer to build around? (ie. Blackclads, Farrow, etc)
Works for me

Which geographical / political areas of Western Immoren are your favorite and why? - do you like Khador, Cygnar, Five Fingers, etc.
No preference

Any other questions for me?
Not yet

Oops..sorry, was so excited to see this post, I forgot!!

Do you have the books / PDFs? - if so, do you have just the original Core book, or Unleashed as well?
Core Book, and can get any others that might be needed.

What sort of character would you like to play?
Investigators and spy stuff.

Would you be happy with a Trollkin centric PbP? - if not, then which racial /social group would you prefer to build around? (ie. Blackclads, Farrow, etc)
Sure I suppose...depends on the adventure I guess.

Which geographical / political areas of Western Immoren are your favorite and why? - do you like Khador, Cygnar, Five Fingers, etc.
Anywhere would be fine with me!

Any other questions for me?
Not yet...will have more once we decide on the who/what/where!

Ahhh... and here was I thinking it was a DM who had the old D20 version of the rules and wanted a game.

Much cheers, joy and success at running what is truly a wonderfully/fantastically created reality.

Hi DM-VotV

I played Milo Dresden in your original game and would love the chance to bring him back to your new one!

Hail, Tenro here, and I played Cephas here in your original game.

Well looks like we're pretty much getting a quorum together - though looks like only a couple / few have Unleashed at the moment.

Ratio of Combat vs 'Intrigue' is difficult to say (mostly as I haven't decided yet...) and it depends a bit more on how heavily the game leans towards the Unleashed side (which tends to be more outdoorsy and survival based) or the Full Metal side (which tends to be a little more urban and urbane).

Given that most people have decided to sit on the fence with respect to location - I'll have a bit more of a read and a think before pitching a bit more detail on concept.

I picked up the Unleashed PDF, so i will be giving that a once-over for more ideas.

EDIT: I see Bone Grinder is a more appropriate choice than Alchemist, and I am looking more strongly at that in lieu of Alchemist (it fits more of what I wanted anyway).

EDIT 2: I am thinking Gifted Gatorman Bone Grinder / Bokor, or Gifted Trollkin Bone Grinder / Monster Hunter

Hoi Hoi DMVoV - as ye well know I played Óengus Mac Gairm in your original game - would be very interested in rekindling his fire!

Ontae the questions:

Do you have the books / PDFs? - if so, do you have just the original Core book, or Unleashed as well?
Have the Original Core, but am more than willing to grab Unleashed - love the Hordes minis

What sort of character would you like to play?
Ideally Óengus in some shape or form - he was a Skilled Fell Caller/Long Rider, but am open to adapting to whatever the game needs - would be interested to see what options Unleased gives me as Tenro fancies a spot of Fell Calling :)

Would you be happy with a Trollkin centric PbP? - if not, then which racial /social group would you prefer to build around? (ie. Blackclads, Farrow, etc)
Trollkith and kin sounds the dogs baws! Seriously troll kin are awesome, but even a down at heel mercenary group would give tons of options. If we have more than one troll kin am cool with having them hail from the same Kreig or area?

Which geographical / political areas of Western Immoren are your favorite and why? - do you like Khador, Cygnar, Five Fingers, etc.
Nae preference chief.

Any other questions for me?
Are you looking for a even split betwixt Unleashed and Full Metal characters?

Bone Grinders do look a bit o' fun :)

BD - Trollkin specific Careers in the Unleashed book as follows:
Fell Caller, Fennblade, Kriel Champion, Long Rider, Shaman (Dhunia)

Unleashed itself also has a different set of base careers that are a bit more outdoorsy:
Archer, Brigand, Bushwhacker, Chieftan, Monster Hunter, Scout, Warrior

As to the preferred split... I will say that I'm getting more open to whatever fits with peoples thoughts. Given that people are ambivalent on location - I'd likely look towards somewhere central-ish so that there's a chance to spread the antagonist love around.

So with that in mind let's narrow down the character ideas around the following:

• Base location for your home village will be in or around the Glimmerwood.
  
• Unleashed side consists of a Trollkin Kriel with Gatorman allies.
  
• Full Metal side character would need to fit into a mercenary / bandit unit operating in the area of NE Thornwood / Southern Llael

At the moment we've got roughly the following interests?:
The Pale King - Swashbucklery
Balodek - Gator / Trollkin
Milo - Investigator / Spy
Tenro - Gatorman / Trollkin Bokor / Bone Grinder
BD - Trollkin 'Ard Nut

Headed to work now, but i will say that ive leaned away from Fell Calling, so if you're interested in it Black Dow by all means go for it. If we both end up trollkin I'm definitely cool with being from the same kriel.

I am thinking Trollkin Bone Grinder / Monster Hunter.

I lean more towards that than Gatorman Bone Grinder /Bokor because i worry about taking two arcane careers.

If we were going with more fullmetal than unleashed, I'd go with alchemist/something. But im focusing my energies on Unleashed since that seems to be where we were leaning with this.

My current top 3:
1. Gatorman Bokor/Chieftan
2. Pyg Bushwacker/Warrior
3. Trollkin Kriel Champion/Chieftan

Will likely stick with Skilled Trollkin Fell Caller/Long Rider; had WAY too much fun with "Gus" last time round so any opportunity to re-kindle him is too tempting.

The Long Rider is probably my favourite element, so if Fell Caller is wanted by someone else I can re-jig my scrapper.

@Tenro: Bone Grinder/Monster Hunter sounds a cool combo... of course ye'll be labelled a mystic haggis-maker by my lad lol.

Am cool with wherever we start - can play up Óengus as a mere/brigand or Krielsman.

Downloading Unleashed as we speak. Cannae wait :)

Mystic haggis is half the reason!
I like the alchemy rules, killing things and taking their guts and making stuff depending on what guts we find

Milo / Pale King - any additional thoughts on what you'd look to play?

For Clarity: We're still open for new business if any other passers-by are interested.

I am thinking a Nobleman from Llael that fled to the wilds and became a mercenary. Aided by the fact that he is a good fighter and spent a lot of time with his Father's huntsman.

Possible career choices: Aristocrat, Duelist, Explorer, Pistoleer, Military Officer, Soldier, Archer, Scout.

Pale King - not sure if you've got the 'Kings, Nations, and Gods' sourcebook, but it's got a few additional options in there for Llaelese characters (namely subterfuge items like garrotes and pen grenades and whatnot).

Milo - based on your post above I'm guessing your preference would be to play a Full Metal character with a spy-ish bent? Perhaps affiliated with our exiled Llalese noble?

BD - the Urban Adventure source also had a tasty wee career for Trollkin as well...

That would work out nicely...perhaps sent in by Cygnar to protect a possible asset??

I'd prefer to keep the subterfuge aspects relatively minimal if possible, as it'll make it easier for me to get things up and running. So an agent of a Llaelese exiled house - either allied to or the same as the one The Pale King is intending to tie himself to?

so we are doing a bit of a IK / Unleashed split party?

Yep - that was always the intent (see the original post).

BD, how do you feel about the United Kriels? Just wondering, reading through Unleashed now. Or did you have a different Kriel in mind? If so lemme know.

also, DM VoV, you say that you'd prefer no Warlocks to start. However, it appears that it is a starting career only. Are you considering waiving that, if we would like to add it later? I might like a full troll to help me hunt BIG game...

In essence it comes down to wanting the early campaign time to be warbeast / steamjack free - to both liberate the adventure options as well as partially simplify my job as a DM.

Is there a chance for later inclusion of Warbeasts / Steamjacks? - maybe... if the campaign makes it to the 30 xp mark, then we can have the conversation then.

Yeah, i can see how Warcaster armor and warbeasts would be an issue early on, and I figured that is what you were doing. Even not knowing how to build a character, the Warcaster seemed next to impossible to kill.

I was mostly just wondering particularly about Warlock since it was restricted to a starting class, but you said they wouldn't be available at first, which was a notable contradiction. And the fact that Warlocks came up when i was reading the section about trollkin (reading more to make a character that makes sense within the setting).

regarding 30xp mark, sounds good to me. i could probably use a better handle on the system anyway, before throwing a hulked-out dire troll in the mix.

@DM VoV: LOVE the pugilist... perfect for a guid rammy :)

Will defo run with that - Fell Caller would seem like a better fit, but also well taken with the Long Rider... Big Rusty rides again lol.

BTW picked up the Unleashed pdf last night and will properly look through over the weekend.

@Tenro: United Kriels look the part, let me properly digest Unleashed and we can nail down background etc.

If they're is still room, I'll crack open my Unleashed tome this weekend, and brainstorm. I was going to run this at my Tabletop game, till I got to the combat chapter, and saw how crunchy it was. Would do me good to get some experience with it before moving on.

Of course there is room :)

I will kick off the discussion thread later tonight so people can start committing to final builds

Expressing interest... as I just started playing Trollbloods in the Wargame. If there is room still... I have the pdfs for all the current books (and several copies of the Hardbound IKRPG and Urban Adventures book).

Trollkin or Circle will likely be my choice. Need to get into the Unleashed book with more than a one-time glance over.

Right-o Discussion thread is live, so jump over there from the banner link and let's get to the nitty gritty of getting the characters built up and ready for action.

Arcmagik - feel free to jump in and join in... though I'll have to say no to any Circle based characters (I'd like to hold them back as antagonists ;)

Damn it... Wish I had seen this earlier. Will have to follow along and watch how Kith and Kriel develop.

If this is still open I'd love to get in.

Your questions:

Do you have the books / PDFs? - if so, do you have just the original Core book, or Unleashed as well? I just have the original core

What sort of character would you like to play? Ive always wanted to try a Iosan Mage Hunter and with a trollkin centric group I think I could blend in as a "scout" of sorts without agenda known.

Would you be happy with a Trollkin centric PbP? - if not, then which racial /social group would you prefer to build around? (ie. Blackclads, Farrow, etc) See above

Which geographical / political areas of Western Immoren are your favorite and why? - do you like Khador, Cygnar, Five Fingers, etc.
I'm good anywhere

Any other questions for me? Sorry if this has been answered but how is combat running?

Unfortunately I've gone first past the post and collated a seven member squad to begin with (a goodly proportion were actually in the aborted attempt I made at the PbP three years ago and are still floating around the boards and interested as well).

That said - you're both more than welcome to pop into the Discussion thread / Gameplay when it launches with a dot and follow along. If we get any player attrition over time it'd make it easy where to look for a pick-up replacement :)

I would love to be on the backup list :)

Unfortunately I've gone first past the post and collated a seven member squad to begin with (a goodly proportion were actually in the aborted attempt I made at the PbP three years ago and are still floating around the boards and interested as well).

That said - you're both more than welcome to pop into the Discussion thread / Gameplay when it launches with a dot and follow along. If we get any player attrition over time it'd make it easy where to look for a pick-up replacement :)

I did have fun that first time, but i think this time will be more fun. And i like my newer character better.

3yrs?!?! where did the time go?!?!

I'll also drop my name on to the list. I'll build a Troll and have him ready as a backup (I'd build a Llaeleese Nobleman/Spy but my Khadoran blood wouldn't let me! ;-) )

Well, given the additional interest and the fact that I have other interest start bounding around this weekend. I am going to withdrawal to give one of these other fine players the chance at your game.

Thank you, Voice.

I have a character ready as a reserve, though I havent written out a full backstory yet. May I present, Trollkin Chieftain / Kriel Champion Havar Wrathborn. (Initially I wrote that like a boxer intro, all elongated and epic, but I decided against it! :P )

The basic idea is that Havar was trained as a Chieftain by his father, but was not ready for the task, so left to explore the world. His twin sister Gelvare chased after him, intending to bring him home, but after freeing Havar from captivity, she gets murdered. Havar failed to save her and broke his weapon while fighting free, taking her axe and escaping with his miserable yellow life. He returns home a broken Troll and begins to try fix all of the problems he has made for his Kith and Kriel. He carries both weapons to this day, his sisters to remind himself of the debt he owes her and his family and his own to remind him what he has lost and the damage he has done. (His is broken beyond repair so isn't really a weapon. More a handle and a dull piece of metal that doesnt have a point, not to talk of an edge)

DarkestHeart - make your way over to the Discussion thread to say howdy.

Guru - interest in being back-up is well noted :)

Would you like a character built and on standby?

Guru - please feel free to do so, and pop into the Discussion thread to say howdy as well :)