To the Irontooth clans, the mech is the ultimate weapon, and he with the most powerful weapon lives the longest. The Irontooth are dedicated to building bigger, stronger and deadlier mechs, through whatever means possible. If such a thing as “barbarian mech jockeys” existed, they’d be the Irontooth clans.
The founding Irontooth were dwarves scarred by the devastation of their clans after the lunar rain. Seeing the new skill of engineering as their only means to survive, they turned their backs on the “failures” (or so they saw it) of traditional dwarven society and sought their future survival through “Power through Metal”. Their rebellious sentiments and chaotic nature meant they were content with living conditions no other dwarves could stand, including small social units, a nomadic lifestyle, and even multiracial clans – half-orcs are now common on their mechs, as well as gnomes, humans and various other unusual life forms.
The Irontooth *clans* are indeed plural; the Irontooth have no single centralized government. They are organized into clans of various sizes which wander (but not patrol) a certain area. Although they all fly the flag of the Irontooth and share a similar perspective on survival, they are otherwise completely disorganized. Like a wolf pack, they will unite against a common enemy but frequently fight among themselves.
Nonetheless, conflicts among Irontooth are not nearly as brutal as their battles with outsiders, as the Irontooth are honorable, even if they’re chaotic. They’re disbanded, disorganized and do as they please, but their societies have law and order and are bound by honor and agreements. As such, battles between various clans and clan-members are settled by ritualized combat.
These spectated battles, or “jousts” as they are called, are one of the best training venues available for pilots. Jousts are used not only for resolving combat but also as training and entertainment pretty much whenever an excuse arises. Nearby clans meet regularly for jousting, and any sort of holiday, victory or other celebration is often an excuse for clans from far and wide to congregate for a joust.
As previously mentioned, the Jousts are extremely valuable for training pilots; honor, rivalries and competition are all brilliant motivators. Because of this, and despite their bawdy lifestyle and chaotic nature, Irontooth pilots are considered the best in all the mechdoms, and outsiders often fight in jousting tournaments for hope of being invited if they duel well enough.
It’s not only the jousts though that make their pilots feared; the Irontooth clans teach a way of fighting called “martial mechanics” that combines ancient monastic martial arts with the brute power of a mech that allows them unrivaled skill in close combat with unparalleled maneuverability. The skill of their pilots has even gone to earn them a nickname among the other factions: “Mech Devils”.
On top of all that, each Irontooth mech is a case study in customization. Literally no two are alike. On top of the various ornamented spikes, studs, barbs and no shortage of razor-sharp serrated edges that gives the “Irontooth” clans their name, individual mechs feature custom-built weapons of a startling variety. Many are designed with certain aesthetic intentions to resemble, skeletons, giants, dragons, and other motifs. Some are astoundingly beautiful; others are revoltingly deadly.
In the next post I will talk about the Rust Riders, the “What happens when a pilot goes bad” faction of the world, after that I’ll be done with talking about the sourcebook material and I can get to my homebrew factions and my players’ characters.
As always, any comments of any kind are greatly appreciated.
See you tomorrow!
Dragonmech 