D20 SYSTEM✦ Normal

The Rustborn Jubilee

# Dungeon# Construct# Intrigue

The Grand Jubilee of Clan Ironfoot was meant to be a triumph of dwarven artifice—a parade of exquisite clockwork automatons celebrating three centuries of peace. But the procession has ground to a halt in the Grand Thoroughfare, its magnificent constructs locked in a frozen deadlock. Whispers spread like rust: the Artificers' Guild, creators of these marvels, allegedly omitted the final sacred lubrication ritual, a symbolic act now blamed for the catastrophic failure. The festival district is a powder keg of fury, superstition, and desperate ambition. Veteran adventurers are hired not to fix machines, but to navigate the explosive political and mechanical fallout, where every choice is oiled with compromise.

Chronicle Prelude

The Gilded Gear District, a normally festive dwarven quarter now choked with silent, rusting automatons and simmering crowds. The air smells of ozone and stale ale. The Artificers' Guildhall stands barred, while the ancestral Hall of Clan Ironfoot is surrounded by grieving traditionalists.

Environmental Traits

A city-wide crisis born from cultural and technological schism. The paralyzed automatons are not just broken—they are becoming dangerously unstable, leaking arcane energy and threatening a chain reaction that could collapse the district. The 'lubrication' is no mere grease; it is a complex alchemical and ritual mixture whose formula is now the most coveted secret in the city.

Legendary Archetypes

Rayan

HP:45

STR:16

WIS: 12

CHA:11

Key Factions & Autonomous Nodes (8)

Guildmaster Thon
A tall, gaunt human with oil-stained robes and multiple pairs of spectacles perched on his forehead. His fingers are stained with ink and alchemical reagents, and he carries the scent of ozone and polished brass.
Elder Brilda
A stout, elderly dwarf with braided iron-gray hair and a stern, lined face. She wears heavy ceremonial armor bearing the Ironfoot clan crest and moves with a cautious, deliberate weight.
Apprentice Pip
A young, nervous gnome with ink-stained fingers and wide, anxious eyes. They constantly adjust a pair of magnifying goggles on their forehead and fidget with a small screwdriver.
Runecaster Krazak
A hunched, fanatical dwarf Traditionalist with ritual scars on his cheeks and eyes that gleam with zealous light. He wears mismatched armor adorned with crude, painted runes and clutches a gnarled staff.
Tinkerer Filge
A frantic, grease-smeared gnome with wild hair and clothes covered in pockets full of tools and spare parts. His workshop is a disaster of half-finished projects and spilled chemicals.
The Central Governor
A colossal, multi-limbed automaton of ancient design, bristling with conduits and pressure gauges. Its single, massive optical lens flickers between the cold blue of the Artificers' new code and the warm amber of the Traditionalists' old rituals. Steam vents hiss erratically from its joints.
Captain Durak
A surly dwarf in heavy Ironfoot guard armor, patrolling the damp Underworks tunnels. His armor is practical and scarred, and he carries a heavy crossbow with an air of weary authority.
Guild Enforcer Automaton
A sleek, heavily plated construct with the Artificers' Guild emblem stamped on its chestplate. It moves with smooth, precise motions, its optical sensors glowing a steady blue. It carries a heavy maul crackling with contained energy.

Chronicle Prelude

Environmental Traits

Legendary Archetypes

✦ Related Cases ✦

The Lost Workshop: Heart of a Raging Core

The Shattered Oath of Granite Hall