선주민

The firstborn lived here long before the humans landed on these shores. The humans, in their arrogance, named this peninsula the Ironlands and called themselves Ironlanders—but the firstborn gave it names of their own in a time beyond the reach of memory.

To determine the role of the firstborn in your setting, see page 128.

• Rank: Dangerous (2 progress per harm; inflicts 2 harm)
• Features: • Large, luminous eyes seen through a wooden mask • Gray-green skin the texture of dry leaves • Sonorous voice • Wielding bow and spear
• Drives: • Protect the wilds • Drive out trespassers, or see them pay
• Tactics: • Strike from shadow • Force their surrender • Turn the forest against them

Elves are strange beings of the forest, seldom seen beyond the ancient woods of the Deep Wilds. They are fiercely protective of their lands and suspicious of humans. Their scouts patrol the borderlands, riding the fearsome mounts we call gaunts (page 148). Others of their kind watch us from the shadow of the deep woods, spears and bow at the ready. Some say elven mystics can bind the animals and beasts of the forest to aid in the defense of the Wilds.

A few warn that the elves are biding their time, readying the attack which will drive us from these lands.

Quest Starter: The leader of an Ironlander community seeks an audience with the elves. For what purpose? Why are you compelled to help?

• Rank: Extreme (2 ticks per harm; inflicts 4 harm)
• Features: • Dark hair and ruddy skin • Twice the size of a tall human, or more • Wearing layers of wool, hide, and furs • Stoic and observant
• Drives: • Survive the winter • Protect the herd
• Tactics: • Fight as a last resort • Sweeping strike • Make them flee

Giants dwell in the Tempest Hills and Veiled Mountains. They live a nomadic life alone or in small family units, herding oxen, mountain goats, and sheep. In their own language they are called the Jokul.

Many Ironlanders misinterpret their quiet nature for dullness, but giants are keenly intelligent and observant. They have a great respect for life, even for our kind, and use trickery and negotiation to avoid fights. When they are left without other options, an enraged giant is a devastating, relentless force.

Quest Starter: A pair of giants are raiding human settlements, stealing supplies and livestock. With winter coming, the survival of those settlements is threatened. What is driving the giants down from the hills?

• Rank: Extreme (2 ticks per harm; inflicts 4 harm)
• Features: • Personification of the natural world • Turbulent, changing visage • Vaguely human-like or animal-like form
• Drives: • Embody chaos • Cling to vestiges of power
• Tactics: • Control the elements • Destroy with primal rage

The primordials, said to be the vestigial spirits of long-forgotten gods, are the most ancient of the firstborn. Each embodies some aspect of the natural world, bound in a crude mimicry of a human or large animal. A river primordial is a mass of rock, gravel, and flowing water. A forest primordial is formed of wood, earth, rocks, and plants. A mountain primordial is a lumbering being of glacier stone and ice. A fire primordial, depending on its mood, might take form as embers, ash, and smoke—or as a raging pyre.

They range in size from the height of an Ironlander to half-again as tall as a giant. Rumors persist of primordials who dwell in the deepest parts of the Wilds, or high in the ranges of the Veiled Mountains, who are as tall as an ancient tree. Beyond, some suggest, in the Shattered Wastes, live primordials who tower into the clouds. Is the sound of distant thunder sometimes the footfalls of mountain-sized primordials who dwell beyond the edge of the known world?

Primordials are solitary beings as unpredictable as the natural forces they personify. They might ignore you. They might lurk at a distance, as if observing you. Or, they might attack. They do not speak in any language we can understand. Some suggest they have no intelligence, and are merely a manifestation of the natural world, no different than a winter storm.

How do you kill a primordial? Most scoff at the idea. You are just as likely to kill the rain or the sea. A mystic might tell you to use a weapon imbued with elemental power. Don’t trust them. If you see a primordial, keep your distance. Better yet, run.

Quest Starter: In the dead of winter, a fire primordial is razing homes and burning a nearby wood. At night, orange flames light the sky. What can be done to stop this destruction?

• Rank: Formidable (1 progress per harm; inflicts 3 harm)
• Features: • Long limbs • Sunken, beady eyes • Translucent skin camouflaged to the environment • Keen sense of smell • Speaks in gibberish
• Drives: • Find pretty things • Keep it secret
• Tactics: • Be sneaky • Bite and claw • Run and hide

Trolls mostly live in the Flooded Land, but it’s not unusual to encounter one in the Hinterlands or even in the southern reaches of the Havens. They are solitary creatures, wary of contact with Ironlanders but likely to attack if scared or provoked.

They move with their back hunched, often skulking on all four gangly limbs. When they stand straight they are much taller than humans—nearly as tall as a giant. Their skin is a sickly pale gray, but they can camouflage themselves by changing it to match their environment.

Trolls collect objects of all sorts, and particularly value Ironlander trinkets. They are tormented by the fear of others stealing their hoard, and are constantly seeking out new, better hiding places. The items are mostly junk to anyone but a troll, but occasionally an object of real value finds its way into the dregs.

Quest Starter: The villagers tolerate the troll who lives nearby because its presence serves to dissuade a greater threat. They even donate items for its hoard, and put up with its occasional thievery. But now, the troll is missing. What is the looming threat the troll helped avert?

• Rank: Dangerous (2 progress per harm; inflicts 2 harm)
• Features: • Yellow eyes shining in moonlight • Pointed ears and snout-like face
• Drives: • Take their land • Defend my kin • Keep the bloodcall at bay
• Tactics: • Strike at night • Leap into combat • Let loose the bloodcall

The varou are humanoid beings who dwell within the Deep Wilds and in the woods of the Hinterlands. Their features are fierce and wolf-like. They are broad-shouldered and a head taller than the average Ironlander. Their long hair is ornately groomed and decorated with beads and other trinkets.

The varou value territory above all things. They often war amongst themselves and against the elves to gain or defend holdings. They mark their claims by carving clan symbols into trees. Only the foolish ignore the warning of these border signs. Several of our settlements—built too close to varou territory— are now abandoned ruins bearing the mark of a victorious varou clan.

Quest Starter: A varou clan has carved their mark into the trees surrounding an Ironlander community, claiming it as their territory. An attack is surely imminent. What will you do to prevent it?