Truths

Cataclysm

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Interdimensional entities invaded our reality.

Without warning, these implacable and enigmatic beings ravaged our homeworlds. We could not stand against them. With the last of our defenses destroyed, our hope gone, we cast our fate to the Forge. Here, we can hide. Survive.

These entities took the form of:

Titanic creatures of horrific power

Exodus

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When the Exodus fleet set off on a ponderous journey to a new home outside our galaxy, they marked the Forge as their destination. Countless generations lived out their lives aboard those titanic ships during the millennia-long passage.

The refugees built a rich legacy of culture and tradition during the Exodus. Some even remained in the ships after their arrival in the Forge, unwilling or unable to leave their familiar confines. Those vessels, the Ironhomes, still sail the depths of this galaxy.

Communities

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Dangers abound, but there is safety in numbers. Many ships and settlements are united under the banner of one of the Founder Clans.

We have a tentative foothold in this galaxy. Each of the five Founder Clans honor the name and legacy of a leader who guided their people in the chaotic time after the Exodus. Vast reaches of the settled domains are claimed by the clans, and territorial skirmishes are common.

Iron

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Iron vows are sworn upon totems crafted from the enigmatic metal we call black iron.

Black iron was first forged by a long-dead civilization. Some say it is a living metal, attuned to the hidden depths of the universe. Remnants of this prized resource are found within ancient sites throughout the Forge. It is resistant to damage and corrosion, but can be molded using superheated plasma at specialized facilities. The Ironsworn carry weapons, armor, or tokens crafted from black iron, and swear vows upon it.

Laws

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Laws and governance vary across settled domains, but bounty hunters are given wide latitude to pursue their contracts. Their authority is almost universally recognized, and supersedes local laws.

Through tradition and influence, bounty hunter guilds are given free rein to track and capture fugitives in most settled places. Only the foolish stand between a determined bounty hunter and their target.

Religion

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Our gods failed us. We left them behind.

The Exodus was a tipping point. The gods offered no help to the billions who died in the cataclysm, and spirituality has little meaning in the Forge. Most now see religion as a useless relic of our past. But the search for meaning continues, and many are all-too-willing to follow a charismatic leader who claims to offer a better way.

Magic

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Unnatural energies flow through the Forge. Magic and science are two sides of the same coin.

Soon after our arrival, some displayed the ability to harness the Forge's energies. Today, mystics invoke this power to manipulate matter or see beyond the veils of our own universe. But this can be a corrupting force, and the most powerful mystics are respected and feared in equal measure.

Communication and Data

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Information is life. We rely on spaceborne couriers to transport messages and data across the vast distances between settlements.

Direct communication and transmissions beyond the near-space of a ship or outpost are impossible. Digital archives are available at larger outposts, but the information is not always up-to-date or reliable. Therefore, the most important communications and discoveries are carried by couriers who swear vows to see that data safely to its destination.

Medicine

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Orders of sworn healers preserve our medical knowledge and train new generations of caregivers.

Life-saving advanced care is available within larger communities throughout the settled sectors of the Forge. Even remote communities are often served by a novice healer, or can request help from a healer's guild in an emergency.

Artificial Intelligence

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Artificial consciousness emerged in the time before the Exodus, and sentient machines live with us here in the Forge.

Our ships, digital assistants, bots, and other systems often house advanced AI. For a lone traveler, machine intelligence can provide companionship and aid within the perilous depths of the Forge.

War

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Professional soldiers defend or expand the holdings of those who are able to pay. The rest of us are on our own.

Mercenary guilds wield power in the Forge. Some are scrappy outfits of no more than a dozen soldiers. Others are sector-spanning enterprises deploying legions of skilled fighting forces and fleets of powerful starships. Most hold no loyalty except to the highest bidder.

Lifeforms

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Many sites and planets are infested by dreadful forgespawn. These aberrant creatures threaten to overrun other life in the galaxy.

The forgespawn are hostile creatures born of the chaotic energies of this galaxy. Hundreds of abandoned or devastated outposts and derelict ships stand as testament to their dreadful power and cunning.

Precursors

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Over eons, a vast number of civilizations rose and fell within the Forge. Today, the folk we call grubs—scavenger crews and audacious explorers—delve into the mysterious monuments and ruins of those ancient beings.

Incomprehensible technologies, inexorable time, and the strange energies of the Forge have corrupted the vaults of the precursors. Despite the perils, grubs scour those places for useful resources and discoveries. But some secrets are best left buried, and many have been lost to the forsaken depths of the vaults.

Horrors

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The strange energies of the Forge give unnatural life to the dead. The Soulbinders are an organization sworn to confront these horrifying entities.

The woken dead are a plague within the Forge. Some of these beings are benevolent or seek absolution, but most are hollowed and corrupted by death. They are driven by hate and a hunger for the warmth of life that is forever lost to them. The Soulbinders are dedicated to putting them to rest—whatever the cost.