Steelforged
Playable Sophont
Shells of Steel
The Steelforged are marked by their shell of cold steel and Blackstone, their durability has made them among the most numerous of the Blackstone Vestiges on Ravare. They are most commonly found in the Solemn Expanse on the streets of Seawatch and Ravenpeak, willfully or otherwise bound to the service of others.
Steelforged cling to the fragmented memories of their lives before, only remembering shadows of their former selves. Though cursed with unfeeling, unchanging bodies of steel, each Steelforged is a ceaseless machine of physical supremacy holding desperately to the world of the living as an eclectic and splintered mind.
Steelforged History
Steelforged were the culmination of hundreds of years of magical advancements and decades of experimentation at the heart of Seawatch's magical universities. Each Steelforged is made from a shell of pounded metal housing a fragile, Blackstone core that contains the last vestiges of the soul shattered in its creation. They were a blessing that came during the early years after The Fall and were instrumental in the survival of sophontic life on Haven. Their mass production has become a dark stain on Haven as men and women are forced into cold shells of steel to have their will broken to achieve production quotas in Seawatch or appease a scorned noble in Ravenpeak.
Steelforged were a superior fighting force that could be mass-produced in the Golemyards of Seawatch, and in the early decades of The Fall, they guarded the walls of men from undead threats across Haven. They were tireless warriors that could fell dozen of Unfallen yet never would add to their numbers no matter how many of their own perished. Soon the secrets of Steelforged would spread, and new forms would be discovered and crafted adding to the growing population of Blackstone Vestiges.
Now, with the rise of Lady Death and Ram's disappearance, Ravenpeak has lost control of many of its Steelforged. They now rove the land like bands of raiding marauders, plaguing small towns in the Solemn and Verdant Expanses while searching for a new purpose. Many Steelforged do not know how to live a life not dedicated in service to another and these few Steelforged struggle more than any other with finding their identity. They had lost some integral part of themselves to the cold steel and would never quite be the same but had to find a way to live anew.
Unfeeling Automaton
Steelforged are often mistaken for their Golem automaton cousins because of their eagerness and even need to serve others. This is something ingrained in many Steelforged very early on in their adaptation to their steel shells and for a few unlucky souls, they lose their will completely.
Steelforged, like all Blackstone Vestiges, crave the sensations they remember from their flesh and will often find odd ways to experience the shadows of what they once had. Many Steelforged cling to their more visceral feelings like fear, rage and moments of physical exertion.
General Information
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
10 years longer than their origin species.
Average Height
6 to 8 feet tall.
Average Weight
600 to 900 pounds.
Related Ethnicities
Naming Schemes
Steelforged have two names, their first is the serial number stamped into their shell in the Golemyards of Seawatch which is a unique identifier used to track down specific Steelforged in large groups. It is comprised of six digits indicating when the Steelforged was constructed in the Golemyards where no two numbers are ever the same.
The second name of a Steelforged is often bestowed by their first master or by a sense of identity built up over their time as a sophontic construct. They are always simple but direct names, used by the mind of the Steelforged as the pillar stone to which their mind clings as they adapt to their new life.
Description
The cold, metal shell of a Steelforged has become as iconic as their name. Their bodies are often styled like suits of armor and designed for function over form. Thus many mass-produced Steelforged are a disconcerting sight of thick, angular sheets of interlocking metal and a nearly featureless mask for a face. In contrast, others made into marvelous works of art and artifice are worthy of any master artisan in even the streets of the City of Marble.
The mind of a Steelforged is a strange thing formed from the fragmented memories that remain from the shadow of their past life. Many Steelforged desperately cling to the few clear memories that followed them into the steel, becoming fixated on what remains of their shattered soul and using it to build some semblance of themselves again.
Origin Species
When creating a Steelforged, remember that they were once flesh and blood as well, and you may have lived decades before finding yourself in your steel body. Did you do so by choice, or were you forced? How do you feel about being trapped in a metal body that never sleeps or feels?
Society
The rudimentary society surrounding Steelforged, especially those not governed by the strict laws of a city or town, is one based upon the rule of the strong and most able. Leadership is often a thing passed around in a collection of Steelforged until only one willful soul remains among them to lead their "simpler" kin looking for a strong hand to guide them. Many of these "simpler" Steelforged are men whose wills were broken by their time in the steel and the loss of the life they had before, now clinging to the tenants drilled into them upon their creation.
The city Steelforged often follow the laws of their patron city stricter than any of its citizens. Many city Steelforged now form tight-knit communes of their own that take it upon themselves to patrol and police the section of the town where they set down roots. These sections of their patron cities become as safe as a palace throne room as these Steel Quarters break crime over their iron law.
Steel Quarters
These city blocks policed by Steelforged are commonly referred to as "Steel Quarters" and are regarded as the safest neighborhoods in their cities. Though the city government may not always approve, removing the Steelforged from a Steel Quarter and prove impossible lest you start an open war in the streets.
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