RPGs: Iron Kingdoms – The Skorne Empire
Privateer Press takes you on a tour of the Skorne Empire. Get your Unleashed party ready for some “beastly” adventure:
Welcome to the Skorne Empire, take it away Privateer:
A brutal and unforgiving landscape, a caste system that dictates every facet of life, magic that draws on the powers of pain and death—the Skorne Empire is a harsh realm by any measure, testing every being who dwells there.
Outsiders who venture among the skorne also face an additional dimension of peril: the strange and lethal fauna of eastern Immoren. Ultimately, if the environment or the skorne themselves don’t kill you, the creatures will. To the skorne, though, these creatures are valuable resources to exploit, many capable of becoming powerful warbeasts.
Drawing from the various beasts hardy enough to survive in eastern Immoren, the skorne have access to many powerful and deadly subjects for their beast handlers. Parties roam the lands looking for feral herds, then goad the creatures into waiting nets and chains. Once beasts are captured and subdued, skorne paingivers bring them back to be either trained up for service to a warlock or placed into a breeding farm. It is only through an extended regimen of pain and conditioning that such creatures can be made pliable enough to serve as warbeasts.
Beast handlers often specialize in a particular species, as each type of beast has unique conditioning requirements. Basilisks, for example, receive different modifications and training based on the sex of the creature. Male basilisks, known as drakes, are trained from birth to obey key commands, but they are also fitted with harnesses to ensure compliance even when not under the control of a warlock. Proper breaking of a female basilisk, or krea, may cost skorne lives and a great deal of resources, but the result is a living weapon that can hamstring an unwary foe. Permanently blinded by its handlers, kreas can be goaded into loosing a wave of energy that slows the advance of enemies and can even halt projectiles.
Now, having explored the terrain, adopted a caste, dabbled in mortitheurgy, and learned a bit about eastern beasts, the time has come to truly immerse yourself in the world of the skorne. So grab a copy of Iron Kingdoms Unleashed: Skorne Empire (along with Iron Kingdoms Unleashed Roleplaying Game: Core Rules, if you don’t already have it), conscript a few brave and durable companions, and proceed to fully indulge your taste for adventure!
The Iron Kingdoms RPG is one of the top growing RPGs in the market. Grab your friends and adventure like you have a pair 🙂
