Part 1: The Basics ☰
Throughout the 19th century, the world underwent its Second Industrial Revolution. Technological and industrial progress skyrocketed, and much of the world was moved into a new age of science, reason, and technology. Of course, there were still those corners of the world that had yet to make the same progress...
Though it does not take place in the real world, this is the central theme of Iron & Aether, or I&A for short. The idea that while the world moves forward, and technology and progress unceasingly advance, there are still those places that continue to rely on or prefer the old ways, for one reason or another. Though these rules do largely focus on Second Industrial Revolution-era technologies, such as guns, transportation, prosthetics, and more, it still engages with magic in a handful of ways, mostly via the mystical substance referred to herein as Aether, and its physical manifestation known as Aetherite. I&A explores the idea of a fantasy world undergoing its own Industrial Revolution, and it opens up to you the ability to tell stories in that space.
There are a handful of terms used throughout these rules that may be confusing or not entirely clear in their meaning if you are new to tabletop RPGs. Detailed below are a handful of terms that are frequently used, defined for clarity and your convenience.
DR. Difficulty Rating, or DR, numerically measures how hard it is for a creature to accomplish a specified task. In order for a check to be considered successful/passed, the result of the required rolls must be > the DR of the given check.
GM. The Game Master, frequently referred to as the GM, is the main rule-master and arbiter of the game world: they are in charge of writing and roleplaying non-player characters, writing quests, building dungeons and the worlds they inhabit, and of playing the role of essentially everything the player-characters encounter during their adventures. The GM’s job is the hardest, but also has the potential to be the most rewarding as they help the group weave incredible stories and forge unforgettable memories.
PC. A Player-Character, or PC, is a character that is being played by one of the players. They are completely under that player’s control, and their class, heritage, background, skills, and more are all up to the player playing them. You will find the rules and guides for all of that information in Parts 1 - 4.
NPC. Conversely, a Nonplayer-Character, or NPC, simply refers to any character not being played by any of the players, but instead by the GM, who decides their personal information and the role they play in the story.
ydx. The letter “d” followed by a number (typically 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, or 20) refers to a die with that many sides, e.g. a d6 refers to the normal 6-sided die, a d20 refers to the 20-sided die, and so on. A number preceding the “d” refers to the amount of that die to be rolled, so 3d4 means roll 3 of the pyramid-shaped dice and add up the result of each roll; if there is no number before the “d”, then only 1 of the indicated die is rolled. In the case of yd100, roll 2d10 and use one of the numbers as the ten’s place and the other as the one’s place; if both come up as 10 (typically shown as a 0 on the die face) then that is 100. In the case of yd3, simply roll y amount of d6s and divide each number (or the total result) by half, rounded up.
As a player, it is your responsibility to be respectful of both other players and your GM’s time and rulings (provided they are fair) and respect the authority they have as the arbiter of the rules and constructor of the world your party is adventuring in. This includes (but is not limited to) doing such things as: listening to what they say to the best of your ability; not arguing with them about rulings without good reason; not intruding on their or anyone else’s fun or moments to shine within the story; being honest about dice rolls; and so on. Essentially, just be respectful of your GM and co-players. Theirs is the hardest job at the table, and they likely spent hours crafting a fun and engaging story that they thought would be enjoyable to play out with their friends. Remember, even though the story (usually) revolves around the PCs, the GM is also a player, and should be having just as good a time as everyone else at the table.
As the GM, your workload is by far the largest. You are responsible for creating the world the game takes place in, writing the quests your players will go on, roleplaying anything and anyone the PCs come across in their adventures. You are the arbiter of the rules and you have final say on any rulings that come under debate by the players. It is your responsibility to craft a believable and reasonably immersive world for the PCs to adventure in, to be prepared for whatever the players may encounter or decide to do, to treat all the players fairly and in a manner that is equally fun and engaging for all of them.
Session 0. When you and your prospective group all agree to start playing I&A, it is important that you host what is called a Session 0. This is a session that occurs prior to the official start of the adventure wherein you sit down with all the players and decide on various important factors, including but not limited to: what kind of game does everyone want to play (e.g. a hack-and-slash combat-filled thrill-ride of an adventure, a roleplay-heavy slow-paced game of intrigue and mystery, etc.), are any of the players uncomfortable with anything and/or is there any topic any of the players would like to avoid (e.g., "this adventure may feature elements of racism/kidnapping/child violence/etc., is everyone okay with that?"), what the players want out of the game, and more. Always remember that everyone has the most fun when everyone is playing the same game – and one that they agreed to play!
Creating Worlds and Adventures. Coming up with an entire world and writing entire multi-session campaigns and quests can be a daunting and time-consuming feat. If you have decided to be the GM for your group but do not have the time or creative energies to do one or both of these things don't fret! Example worlds and quests, such as the world of Aethra and the [EXAMPLE MODULE] module provide pre-built materials that you can use ad hoc or simply draw inspiration from as you please.
I&A has many, many, many rules to keep track of. If you feel overwhelmed by all of it, DO NOT WORRY; not all of the rules need to be kept track of all of the time. As the GM, it is part of your job to keep track of what is important to account for and what can be left by the wayside. For example, if your group enjoys combat and does it frequently, learning the rules for combat to the point that you practically have them memorized may be a good idea; or, if your group doesn't care about travelling or weather, the rules for those things can be largely ignored until they gain relevance for one reason or another.
As a baseline, most of the rules in Part 1 should be learned and understood by everyone playing, while many of the rules in all of the other parts likely do not need to be heavily pored over except for what is relevant to you and your group specifically.
It is not difficult to see that Iron & Aether, both as a game and as a website, is not finished. Whole chapters are missing, there is practically no artwork, the Bestiary is exceedingly barren, and there are so many places where the game could simply be improved in one way or another. It is my plan to continue working on and supporting the game for the foreseeable future, adding and fixing content and progressively acquiring more artwork to decorate the site. Player feedback will be absolutely invaluable in these efforts, so if you feel so inclined to join the game's Discord, please do so! It is appreciated beyond words.
I also plan to keep the game free and in digital/website format forever, as I feel the many advantages to keeping it this way far outweigh the benefits of publishing the game into a physical medium and selling it. However, since I enjoy not being homeless and not starving to death, I would kindly ask you to consider joining my Patreon or supporting me on Ko-Fi so I can continue doing what I love and putting all of my focus and energy into this and other projects.