This week, we change focus once again and zoom in closer to the Mirror Realms of the Tempest Campaign Setting, the official campaign setting of SyncRPG. We begin, naturally enough, at the starting point of our first series of adventures: in Ironhull.

The Republic of Ironhull is an idyllic, coastal plain located in the heart of “crossroads of the world” or Stormseye. While Salt City is certainly the cosmopolitan, economic capital of the region, Ironhull is the populous, agrarian motherland from which the area derives its tradition. Most residents of Stormseye can trace at least part of their ancestry to an Ironkin, but the number diminishes every year as more and more colonists from the Outer Rim, i.e. the Old Worlds, arrive. Ironhull is a bastion of tolerance and peace in the middle of the realm, a rural heart of the center of the world.

The residents of Ironhull, the Ironkin, are the descendants of diverse peoples who settled the area over a thousand years ago. Elves, gnomes, half-elves, half-orcs, halflings, and humans can all be found here, living in small communities, supporting and helping one another, but the region is far from care-free. Marauding orcs dwell in the peripheries, and trolls and other giants lurk in the nearby mountains; the seas are home to thieving Boatkin, and numerous ancient ruins dot the island, sheltering lost creatures and dangerous mysteries. It is the perfect environment in which to be born if you would want to grow up to be an adventurer.

It is the perfect environment in which to be born if you would want to grow up to be an adventurer.

Ironhull is a federated republic governed by a congress of elected senators, and the local provinces are organized around townships with elected councils. Despite the racial diversity of the country, racism is extremely rare, and there are no national parties interfering with the government system. It is an agrarian population of considerate people who are willing to help their neighbors if they can, but they are frontiersmen first. The first rule of Ironhull is that each person takes care of themselves before involving others.

The culture of Ironhull is comparatively rustic and traditional. Its primary focus is on family and independence. Everyone works, contributes, and shares, but a person may keep whatever a person earns. Community is strong but not stifling, and because of the pleasant, warm weather of the region, the people enjoy a good quality of life throughout the year. Religion in Ironhull is personal and non-conspicuous. The towns have Savantine temples with chapels dedicated to popular deities, while Sowerine shrines dot the countryside and rooms of many homes. The capital city of Gilfensfall has a Senary Church that is popular with the urban elite. Only during festivals, which occur about once a month and are typically dedicated to a particular deity, does religion become important. For many, these events are the highlight of a season or year.

The first rule of Ironhull is that each person takes care of themselves before involving others.

Despite its age, Ironhull remains a frontier compared to the dense urban societies of the Old Worlds. It is a rustic, rural place located at the heart of the world, and while filled with a simple beauty that invites any and all to make it their home, it lacks the extremes of more exotic lands. The call of antiquity, the desire for riches, or the pursuit of greater glory lure more people away every year. The Ironkin are independent and tough, which makes them good adventurers, which is a good thing, because the country is ideal for undertaking such risky business.

Ironhull

NGGilfensfall (lg city)Riverford (lg town), Lestershold (lg town), Edgewater (sm town), Elfwood (lg town)Governor Serlo CogginsFederated republiccommon (Stormish, major), elvish (Quinathi, minor), gnomish (Fronomish, minor), Halfling (Heightless, minor)Savants, Sowers, and Fervants common, Senary Church in capital

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