The Order of the Iron Gorse
The Order began sixty years ago as a loose collection of scholars fascinated by the ley-glass ruins of the Old Kingdom. After the local peasantry burned their first research camp out of superstitious fear, the scholars realized that knowledge without iron is fleeting. They militarized, training their scribes as heavy infantry and their engineers as sappers. Their defining moment occurred during the Siege of Briar Keep, where they utilized a partially repaired resonance cannon to repel a barbarian horde. This victory solidified their role as a private military force, though their primary motivation remains the systematic stripping and cataloging of ancient sites.
The Order of the Iron Gorse
- Type
- Militant Scholastic…
- Size
- Regional
- Reach
- Significant
- Base
- Fort Cineris
Overview
The Order began sixty years ago as a loose collection of scholars fascinated by the ley-glass ruins of the Old Kingdom. After the local peasantry burned their first research camp out of superstitious fear, the scholars realized that knowledge without iron is fleeting. They militarized, training their scribes as heavy infantry and their engineers as sappers. Their defining moment occurred during the Siege of Briar Keep, where they utilized a partially repaired resonance cannon to repel a barbarian horde. This victory solidified their role as a private military force, though their primary motivation remains the systematic stripping and cataloging of ancient sites.
How it began
The Order was founded by Sir Alaric the Maimed, a disgraced knight who discovered a functioning data-sphere in a field of iron-enriched gorse. The machine whispered to him of a Great Circuit that once powered the world. Alaric sold his family lands to hire mercenaries and academics, binding them together under the symbol of the very flowers that hid his discovery.
How to know them
Gorse Yellow, Rust Brown, Verdigris Green
The Broken Gear, The Lightning-Struck Thorn, The Braided Copper Cable
Standing
What they say they want
What they are doing now
Where it leads
To usher in a new age of enlightenment where ancient technology serves as the foundation for a global empire, governed by the Order as the sole arbiters of knowledge.
How others see them
To the common folk, they are 'The Grave-Kings,' a group of arrogant, over-armed scholars who care more about old wires than living people. They are respected for their prowess but generally feared and avoided.
People
5 ranks
Arch-Librarian
Obsessive, clinical, and increasingly paranoid. Vane views humans as inefficient conduits for the information that the ancient world provides.
- Arch-Librarian1 member
Supreme commander of all military and research operations; final arbiter of technological use.
- Chapter-Masters6 members
Oversight of specific geographical regions or major archaeological sites.
- Site-Wardens42 members
Commanding officers of field units and security details for active excavations.
- Field-Excavators500 members
Combined roles of soldiers and salvage specialists who handle the physical recovery of artifacts.
- Initiates250 members
General laborers, camp guards, and students undergoing rigorous technical and martial training.
Other key members
- Commander Kaelen Thorne Head of Martial Training
- Scribe Elara Voss Chief Archivist
How they are organised
- Proficiency in at least one ancient language or mechanical trade.
- Willingness to take the Vow of the Thorn, renouncing all former family allegiances.
- A two-year apprenticeship under a Site-Warden.
Relations
4 factionsThey provide raw materials in exchange for refined metallurgical secrets from the Order.
Operations
What they do
How they do it
Services for hire
- Relic Authentication100 gold pieces or a favor of equal value.Determining the origin and function of ancient items.
- Ruined Site Escort500 gold pieces per week plus a 20 percent share of salvage.Highly trained soldiers providing security in high-hazard ancient zones.
What they can do
What they have
Where they are weak
Territory
Headquarters
Fort CinerisFort Cineris sits atop a jagged bluff overlooking the coastline. It is a sprawling complex of grey stone and rusted iron, where steam vents hiss constantly from subterranean depths. The ancient walls have been reinforced with salvaged titanium plating, and the central tower houses a massive, flickering antenna array that glows faint blue at night.
Lands they hold
Outposts
- Site GammaCoastal Salt-MarshesSalvaging amphibious propulsion units from sunken vessels.
- The Watch-EyeMount SolitudeA signal relay station and meteorological laboratory.
Secrets
Plot hooks
3 hooks- 1The Missing KeyMediumReward: High-quality masterwork gear or favor.The Order hires the party to find a specific copper cylinder lost in a landslide, but a rival group of cultists is already tracking it.
- 2Escort to the AbyssHardReward: Choice of one ancient minor artifact.A Site-Warden needs protection during a deep-level salvage run into a vault filled with toxic gas and ancient constructs.
- 3The Village DefenseMediumReward: Reputation with common folk and a safe house.A local village asks the party to stop the Order from 'unplugging' the ancient stone that purifies their water supply.
Work they offer
What gets in the way
Rumours
Media
0 imagesNo images yet.
Turn The Order of the Iron Gorse into a sheet
A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.