Forge and Frontier World Guide

Welcome to Forge! Forge is a forgotten demiplane, created by the God of Blacksmiths to function as a place to store his most bizarre and dangerous creations. But the Father of the Forge has been gone for quite some time. His fantastical machines of divine capabilities, able to create or destroy with an awe inspiring might, were left to rot and crumble as time ticks by. But that is not all that has changed within Forge. As the Father of the Forge left, one of his machines pricked his finger, drawing blood. A singular drop of that golden ichor landed amongst the forgotten detritus, and from there sprang life. Humanoids of all types began to populate the land of Forge, carving out small settlements to survive in a hostile, metal world.

The landscape of Forge is a harsh one, made entirely of rusted metal and torn scrap. Arid desert winds plague the people who populate the surface. Water is scarce, and soil is reserved only for the select few. Instead people rely on the creations of the Father of the Forge to sustain them, magnificent creations that make food and water seemingly out of thin air.

You are one of those people, living in the settlement of Heap. The land beyond your foothills of red metal remains a mystery, but rumors of the Rustlands outside have a habit of spreading. There are whispers amongst the travellers of a Master Control, a singular device that the Father of the Forge created that would grant whoever wields it complete control over the plane of Forge itself. Now, the Rustlands of Forge are alive with all manner of person, all scouring piles of scrap for clues towards the Master Control.

It is now up to you to take the future of Forge within your own two hands, and set out into the Rustlands, whether it be for your own gain or for others. Side with different factions, negotiate between them, and discover the truth behind this strange world you find yourself in…

The Factions

The Programmers 

The Programmers are a small group of singular people, all working towards the same goal, to find the Master Control. However, to what end they search is up to the individual. They are treated as sages and outcasts from most settlements within the world of Forge, set apart due to their ability to communicate with, and sometimes even control, the Machines. Programmers are seen almost as a necessary evil by most people. The average person on Forge does not care to think about someone talking to the Machines, but who else is going to fix the magic items that they need to survive? 

The Church of the God-Machine 

When the Father of the Forge’s blood first dropped on the Rustland and life sprouted, there was nothing. Not even the guidance of this god could provide comfort for the people he spawned. Only the God-Machine, a giant, mysterious device in the Rustlands became worthy of veneration. It turned the rust to soil, and, from that soil, grew vast gardens of fruits and vegetables. A temple was erected around the God-Machine, tended by the machine clergy headed by the Voice of the Machine, who now preach the Gear of Insight: “From iron to rust. From rust to soil. From soil to life.”

The Wrexecutioners

A group of people who see the world and its harshness as a more-or-less thumbs up by the Father of the Forge to do whatever they want and live out Mad Max style power fantasies. ‘The world sucks, ergo it is a thing to be conquered and an obstacle to overcome, and we might as well have fun along the way.’ Also a lot of them are really, really stupid.

Steelheart Children 

“Let fire take the flesh, and let iron take its place.” These are the words carved above the doorway when you enter the hall of the Steelheart Children. They believe the flesh is impure, and the only way to achieve purity and the Father of the Forge’s approval is to replace all their organic parts with ones of steel and iron. However, they have thus far found it basically impossible to replace a person’s brain and heart with a machine and maintain what they once were. This is the ultimate goal of the Steelheart: To shed their organic parts and become fully “autonomatonomous”.