Ironwood Sentinel

Mind of the forest, find my foes. Strength of the forest, guide my blows.

Heart of the forest, give me drive, friends of the forest, I'll keep you alive!

Rally round!

~ Half-Elf Bard Tyronsius Gilleium as Cedarstone the Ironwood Sentinel in a production of "Hark, the Forest Walks".

Prerequisites: Warforged, Druid

The Ironwood Sentinels are a sect of Warforged Druids who strive to emulate Treants and other intelligent plant creatures. They consider themselves "treants" in a sense as well, though treants formed with stone and steel as well as wood. Other druids may be content to stand a distance away hurling evocations or dart aroudn the edges of a battle, looking for the most opportune moment to strike. The Ironwood Sentinels however, don't partake of this catuion, charging into the thick of things, preferring injury over seeing misfortune befall their allies.

Ironwood Sentinels' beast form usually resemble a plant creature more than a natural animal, with most choosing to become small treants. As Ironwood Sentinels increase in power, some even go so far as to augment their original bodies to better emulate the treants they idolize, attaching leafy boughs, growing moss on their stone parts, and dulling the shine of their metallic areas with mud.

Ironwood Sentinel Path Features

Ironheart Action: (11th Level): When an Ironwood Sentinel spends an Action Point the Ironwood Sentinel and all allies within 10 squares gain a +2 bonus to all defenses until the end of the Ironwood Sentinel's next turn..

Ironwood Focus: (11th Level): Whenever an ally within 5 squares is attacked by an enemy, the Ironwood Sentinel can mark the enemy as an immediate reaction. This mark lasts until you use this feature again.

Ironwood Body: (11th level): The Ironwood Sentinel recieves Toughness as a bonus feat. If the Ironwood Sentinel already has the Toughness feat, increase the bonus hitpoints provided by 10. Additionally, you gain resist fire 5 and resist necrotic 5. At level 21 these bonuses increase to resist 10.

Ironwood Furor: (11th level): You get +1 to attack rolls against targets marked by your Ironwood Focus.

Living Treant Form: (16th Level): While in beast form, your reach increases by 1.
 

Ironwood Sentinel Powers

Optional Elements

Elemental

Race

New Party Role

Stance

Secluded deep within the red stone peaks of the rugged Jerall Mountains lies Forgehold, a bastion of order among an otherwise untamed frontier. The residents of Forgehold are few, but their influence is great, and their presence has had a pacifying effect on the region.

The nomadic tribesman that roam amongst the foothills speak highly of the Gerivar, or, "Stonemetal Men", who rule their small country. Before their coming, life was hard -- a constant struggle against the Rurok, "Bloodbeasts", for food, territory, and the right to live. When the Gerivar arrived in the area, their iron armies brought an end to hunger, war, and fear in a single swoop. When the city of Forgehold was constructed, merchant caravans came with it. Suddenly, food became plentiful -- after all, what merchant can resist a finely cured hide or the alchemical panacea of the foothills? Goods were exchanged, and the nomads of Jerall pledge their blades (and their honor) to the Gerivar and their wagon trains.

A modern scholar would, of course, find Forgehold interesting for an entirely different reason: It is one of the few cities founded and maintained by Warforged (the nomad's Gerivar), and it is one of the few contemporary regions with a high tolerence for Orcs (or Rurok).

Forgehold and the Council of Twelve

The city of Forgehold is a bright light of civilization in the darkness of the world. It is home to some 3,000 standard Warforged, and some 600 more obscure models (such as the hulking Warforged Titan). As time has passed,the resource-rich Forghold has also attracted merchants, miners, and prospectors of all sorts, and these 8,000 or so frontierspeople now encompass the majority of the town's population. The Council of Twelve, the governing body of Forgehold, has declared the lands closest to the mountains as under its protection, and has often dispatched its agents to settle disputes between the human nomads (estimate: 300-700) and the various orc tribes (estimate: 1,000) within that region.

Forgehold is governed by a Council of Twelve, a semi-democratic body of advisors and administrators, and The Maker, the singular ruler of the city. Warforged, by their very nature, are not a very prolific species, and as its title might suggest, The Maker is solely responsible for the addition of new members to Forgehold's workforce. It is unknown whether this is because The Maker is the only Warforged with the knowledge to create more of their kind, or simply because of the quasi-religious significance of creation. (As one might expect, worship of Erathis is especially prominent here)

Though he technically has just as much power as any of The Council of Twelve (and has the strength of 3 votes on council policy matters), the current Maker, Ghearo, has found its focus turning inwards over the past 8 years, leaving most of the governing in the capable members of The Twelve.

The Maker of Forgehold

Ghearo, The Maker: Unaligned Warforged

Str 12, Con 15, Dex 11, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10
Skills: Insight, Endurance, Thievery

Slow and ponderous, with creaking joints and rusty speech, Ghearo seems more an old man than the construct he truly is.

Ghearo was built long ago, and during the 40-odd years it has been Maker, it has seen much, and done much more. It would like nothing more than to leave its simple life and adventure out amongst the world once more, re-oil the joints with the blood of the slain, perhaps sail the ocean on a journey of exploration, seeking new continents and the like. But, as it is, Ghearo cannot. Its position of Maker is an essential one to Forgehold, and it is loyal enough to its city that it will not abdicate without a proper successor.

Ghearo is even now considering how to go about its final act of creation -- an heir that will carry on the tradition of Making, ensuing the longevity of Forgehold in times to come.

[items carried]

Important Members of the Council of Twelve

General Slatesteel: Good Warforged

Str 16, Con 20, Dex 11, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 15
Skills: History, Bluff, Intimidate

Slatesteel is an unusal color -- as its name might indicate, Slatesteel is composed partly of that dark stone, and stands out because of it. The General cuts an imposing figure

The first time the city of Equinox slipped through the planar boundary, its presence went largely unnoticed. Though the Eladrin and more exotic fey living within the strange city were a curiosity, they were just another curiosity to the frontierspeople in the area. In a few days, the city was gone again, back from whence it had come, and the inhabitants of the area went back to their normal routines.

The Second time Equinox appeared, it was there to stay. Couriers were dispatched from that fey city, claiming a large swath of the frontier as "the newest annexation of land of the good kingdom of Emberfrost". Again, the city was mostly ignored... until the Eladrin tax collectors started appearing.

"Our good King Elderic desires a small tribute for the good of the Kingdom" said the tax collectors.

"What Kingdom?" cried the frontierspeople.

"My friends, you have all been annexed into the kingdom of Equinox! It's for your benefit and protection of course!" said the tax collectors.

"Protection from what?" cried the frontierspeople.

"Why, the war between the faerie courts, of course! Surely you know that our great city of Equinox is of vast importance to the winter/summer strife!"

The frontierspeople deliberated amongst themselves for a while, ultimately deciding that they would be better off under the protection of a kingdom, even if it did mean paying taxes.

"Okay." Said the frontierspeople. "Come back tomorrow and we will give you some of our gold."

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" laughed the Tax Collector. "Our good King Elderic has no need for gold! I'm here to collect a tribute of bones! Dog bones, bear jaws, chicken feet, it doesn't matter what, but it must be ready for our King Elderic tomorrow!"

The frontierspeople deliberated amongst themselves once more, and ultimately decided that a tax of bones was better than a tax of gold, and made the necessary arrangements.

Since that time, the frontier around Balthir's Forest has been officially known as the Kingdom of Equinox, and until recently, was ruled by King Elderic the Mad.

King Elderic was undisputably not sound (though the degrees of his madness varied by the day) and the kingdom was instead run by a group of advisors and administrators known as the Emberfrost court. The boundary between the material plane and the Feywild is especially thin within the city itself (which makes sense, given that that thinness is what caused the translocation of the city to begin with), and has become a minor hub of interplanar trade because of it.

Though the boundary has never again become so thin that Equinox might fall back into the Feywild, the border is permeable enough for the rapid transportation of sizable groups of armed forces -- armed conflict between the faerie courts is a very real danger to the non-fey citizens of Equinox. This is exacerbated by the ciy's location -- nearly equidistant from either power -- and thus controlled by neither (and coveted by both!).

Six months ago, King Elderic, in one of his innumerable bouts of madness, named the court archivist, a "lowly" kobold named Kip-kip, standing Reagent. The King proceeded to go on vacation in Castle Equinox's moat because "I heard the water was nice, this time of year". When he was devoured shortly thereafter by feymire crocodiles, (and in light of Elderic's lack of heirs) the Chain of Succession landed squarely onto Reagent Kip-kip's small shoulders.

The Emberfrost Court doesn't care that they now have an inexperienced monarch in Equinox (in fact, they grudgingly admit that the Kobold is better that King Elderic in many areas, including (but not limited to) bodily hygiene, ettiqute, court procedings, and natural eloquence), but for the proud fey of Equinox, being led by a no-name Archivist (of all things) is almost too grave an insult to bear! They seek a way to remove Kip-kip from power, though they would never go so far as to murder or drive him out themselves ("Murder the new king? Are you mad? I'd get blood all over my robes!")

For his part, Kip-kip is none too pleased with his inherited position. He had spoken with King Elderic perhaps twice before his sudden Reagency and resultant coronation. He's smart enough to distrust the Court, and savy enough to nudge the kingdom in a successful direction. Truthfully, the Kobold would be happy to return to his archival job, but with that out of the question, Kip-kip has resigendly contented himself to doing two things: running the kingdom well, and surviving.

The King of Equinox

Kip-Kip, King of Equinox: Good Male Kobold.
Str 11, Con 18, Dex 14, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 12
Skills: Insight, Diplomacy, History, Religion

Unprepared and untested, an unexpected King ruling over an uncaring populace.

For some five years, Kip-Kip the Kobold had been an archivist in Castle Equinox. He tended the libraries and when one of the King's mad decrees or commands required it, dredged up the relevant records to add (or retract) any number of amendments. When King Elderic stormed into the library late one night, bodily whisking the small Kobold away, Kip-Kip had an uneasy feeling that something bad was about to happen. Indeed, King Elderic's destination was the great hall, and he put Kip-Kip on the Emberfrost Throne itself, draping the silver chain he wore as his belt in a haphazard manner across the kobold's face.

"Archivist" Began the madman. "I am going on vacation. In my absence, you shall be king."

Kip-Kip was too shocked but to watch as the King left for his ill-fated, moat-based vacation. Within minutes, Kip-Kip informed the Emberfrost Court of the King's proclamation. Sylene was immediately dispatched to fetch the king and undo the hasty edict, only to return almost as quickly, still shocked from the vicious spectacle of the mad king's bloody death.

Kip-Kip's gulping was the only sound heard in the silence of the council chambers. He knew the laws better than anyone -- he had inherited the Kingship for good or for ill, and only upon death or succession of an heir could that mantle be passed on.

Since he lived a hermit and has no wish of dying, neither option was found particularly appealing to the Kobold. His sole solace is that the Emberfrost council is likely to force the latter rather than the former (at least for the moment), but even this is fleeting.

The magic of Elderic's Chain of Command (commissioned to assuage Elderic's vanity, of course) compels the five members of the Emberfrost Court views him as the best possible leader of Equinox -- that is to say, a charismatic Eladrin of indeterminate gender and temperment. Kip-Kip realizes that were his true, kobold, nature to be discovered, the court might abruptly swing to the alternate option: death. For now, Kip-kip believes his secret is safe, but he can only turn away so many ellible Eladrin bachlors and bachlorettes before the Court becomes suspicious and bothers to investigate further.

The Emberfrost Court

Sylene of Winter, Luminent Coronal of Equinox: Unaligned, Female, Eladrin
Str 10, Con 18, Dex 14, Int 20, Wis 8, Cha 10
Skills: Intimidate, Arcana, Endurance, Religion

Over-eager and unrepetant, Sylene's dedication to the new king is surpassed only by her need to regain standing amongst her peers.

The Luminent Coronal's job is simple -- protect the King. Therefore it is no surprise that Zheyva enjoys Kip-Kip's relative stability to Elderic's fleeting bouts of madness and extamporanity. Certainly, he is easy to follow around. Zheyva is young, devoted and (though she denys it herself) smitten with her perceived  king. To her, Kip-kip is tall, blonde, rakish... (other members of the court sneer at her adulation, and have thus far declined offers regarding free books featuring her love poems)

But Zheyva does not truly love Kip-Kip, only the facade created by the Chains of Command. Like most of the court, she is haughty and feels innately superior compared to the "common races" which inhabit Equinox's usurped lands. She was blamed for King Elderic's death, and has lived an outcast from the court, these past few months. She doesn't hold herself accountable, but she is hellishly determined to regain her standing amongst her peers. Currently, she holds the least amount of power in the court, and is not even allowed to vote in any of the courtly proceedings.