Post by maecius on Apr 4, 2009 15:47:01 GMT -5
This is the write-up on The Iron Throne that can be found in the F.R. supplement, Lords of Darkness:
THE IRON THRONE[/u]
The caravan horses reared and plunged, panicking as the brigands charged up and over the lip of the gully that ran alongside the dusty roadway. In moments the wagon train was in disarray. The attack had been so swift that it had left the wagon masters with no time to organize a defense. The grinning brigand leader cantered up to the caravan master, who squinted in the sun to make out the burly man's features.
"Well met, Master Gaedynn!" boomed the armed and armored ride. "A fine day for a journey across these dangerous wild lands, is it not?" Caravan master Gaedynn's ears twitched. He didn't know this brigand, but the criminal clearly knew him. Good intelligence, he mused. This is no ordinary raid.
"Take what you want," he replied in a tone that suggested he was far from happy. "I suspect that we would be unable to stop you anyway."
"You're too kind," said the brigand with a smile. He glanced around at his men, who were swiftly unloading boxes, crates, and barrels from the wagons. Apparently satisfied with their progress, he turned his attention back to the caravan master and said, "Now, Gaedynn, there's the small matter of a conversation you had three nights ago in that tavern, the one with the stupid name."
"The Drunken Drow?" ventured Gaedynn in what he hoped was a helpful manner. The brigand grinned again.
"That's the one! You were speaking with one of your confederates, a certain timber merchant from Baldur's Gate. You told him that you were concerned that you hadn't hired enough guards for this trading venture. You were right, as it turns out, but that's beside the point." The brigand lowered his voice; his smile vanished, and his eyes grew cold. "The important thing is that you told your friend that you suspected that the banditry on this road was being sponsored by the Iron Throne. Again, you were right, but your suspicion will cost you more than trade goods." Faster than Gaedynn's eye could follow, the brigand produced a hand crossbow and shot him through the throat.
On the surface, the Iron Throne appears to be just another merchants' guild. The group is ostensibly dedicated to pursuing a monopoly on the weapons trade in certain parts of Faerun, a goal it has pursued with unbridled zeal. While other merchants and traders have accused the Iron Throne of increasing its share of the weapons trade through such unsavory practices as banditry and murder, such complaints are hardly unusual between competitors. At least, so say the merchants who are the nominal leaders of the Iron Throne.
The truth is that this mercantile company is more than just another band of avaricious merchants out to make a gold piece at the expense of ethics. The public faces of the Iron Throne are merely mouthpieces for the true leaders of the organization, ruthless killers who stop at nothing to achieve the Iron Throne's economic goals. The masters of the Iron Throne think nothing of cutting out the competition with every dirty trick at their disposal. The group's sinister aspects go deeper than mere murder, however. When compared to those of their fellow merchants, the uses to which the Iron Throne intends to put its filthy lucre are certainly more than a little unusual, not to mention dangerous.
BRIEF HISTORY
The Iron Throne is a relatively recent development in the economic history of Faerun. It was originally the brainchild of a unique individual: Sfena, the daughter of a powerful devil. A skilled assassin, she used her talents to serve her father and his internecine wars against the other denizens of Baator. A strange accident befell Sfena during one of her missions to kill an enemy in Faerun, in 1347 DR. Her entire body hardened into a material of crystalline appearance and hardness. The accident that changed her thus also freed her from Baator, allowing her to remain in Faerun. Sfena conceived the Iron Throne as a means of restoring herself. She intended to trade the entire organization to a devil or perhaps another extrapalanar power in return for the restoration of her body. She invented the name of the organization during a speech to her first contingent of minions: "We shall rule the Heartlands with an iron fist. We shall rule them from an Iron Throne, built of the weapons of our trade, and the shackles of our slaves, the common nails of our wagons, and the iron in the blood of those who oppose us. Iron has power, and so shall we."
Sfena's words were prophetic. The Iron Throne quickly gained a sizable stake in the weapons trade, branching out into the area of equipment used for trade and commerce (such as caravan wagons, horses, and the attendant supplies). Sfena's tactics were engineered in such a fashion that her representatives could insist that the organization always acted within the letter of the law. No act of theft, sabotage, or murder was beneath her and her minions, however, and other merchants quickly learned that to cross the Iron Throne meant that they had to be prepared for various kinds of assaults and interventions against themselves and their business.
Sfena disappeared just over a year ago, in 1371 DR, under circumstances that suggest diabolical involvement. Her chief lieutenants suspected that her father, or one of his enemies, spirited Sfena back to Baator. When she vanished, the organization was thrown into chaos. Battle lines were quickly drawn between Sfena's lieutenants, each of whom thought he would make the ideal leader for the coster in their mistress's absence. Sfena's second in command, Krakosh, eventually seized control of the group by allying himself with several other lieutenants. By the time they emerged victorious from the conflict, however, the Iron Throne had already lost ground in the weapons trade. Krakosh and his aides are now engaged in a serious attempt to restore and exceed the organization's former power.
THE ORGANIZATION
Headquarters: Merchant offices in Suzail.
Members: 3,530.
Hierarchy: Segmented.
Leader: Krakosh (Sfena in our timeline).
Religion: The Iron Throne venerates no particular deity as an organization. Kelemvor, Mask, Shar, Waukeen are all popular religions with its members.
Alignment: LN, LE, CN, CE, NE.
Secrecy: High.
Symbol: A stylized iron throne. The group uses a simplified line drawing of this symbol as a trail and property marker.
HIERARCHY
The lower echelon of the Iron Throne is divided into units that function independently. Only Krakosh. Maready, and their closest aides know the entire interlocking structure of the organization. The individuals who undertake the day-to-day operations get information strictly on a need-to-know basis.
MOTIVATION AND GOALS
Krakosh desires, above all things, to locate Sfena and recover her. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the faintest idea where to start looking, and neither does Maready (or so he claims). He has ordered that all members of the organization search the areas in which they do business for signs or rumors of their missing leader. Meanwhile, he intends to increase the operational area of the Iron Throne so that the search area can likewise be expanded. For all he knows, Sfena is in the hands of one of their trading rivals, or rotting in the dungeon of some king, waiting for rescue. He is prepared to scour Faerun for her, and does not hesitate to use whatever means are necessary to recover her. He relies heavily on Maready's judgment and consults the wizard before making any important decisions.
Meanwhile, the Iron Throne is largely Maready's to run as he likes, through his storm giant ally. Krakosh has proven most tractable when it comes to changing business practices. All Maready needs to do is claim or imply that his advice enables the storm giant to make the Iron Throne more successful, thus increasing his chances of finding his lost love. When the time is right and Krakosh has served his purpose, Maready intends to eliminate him and rule the Iron Throne himself. Maready has already convinced Krakosh that the group should begin trading in drugs, acquiring them from the Red Wizards' enclaves and reselling them for higher profits elsewhere.
The rank and file membership consists primarily of merchants, caravan masters, soldiers, brigands, rogues, drovers, craftsfolk, spies, assassins, and saboteurs. The vast majority of these folk, whose number encompass nearly every civilized Faerunian race, have as their primary desire the acquisition of wealth. A limited number desire wealth and power, and from this segment the most talented and skilled are promoted to positions of authority within the organization.
The Iron Throne is actually engaged in the legitimate trade of arms and armor. Their caravans are welcomed in numerous cities throughout the Heartlands for the masterwork and magical weapons they convey (many of which are stolen, salvaged from dungeons by hired adventuring parties, or made by craftsfolk who were cheated out of their rightful profits). The group also smuggles weapons, in order to avoid taxes and other inconvenient laws. Their most successful tactic in the weapons trade, however, is raiding the caravans of their competitors. The Iron Throne is always very careful to ensure that the raiders appear to be nothing more than common brigands. The society encourages its legitimate merchants to strive to maintain an air of respectability. The leadership has found that an appearance of honesty helps defeat accusations to the contrary.
The organization employs a goodly number of agents charged with the task of tracking down and punishing those who cross it. Folk who break contracts with the Iron Throne are likely to be murdered, defamed, or sold into slavery, depending on which option is most expedient and cost-effective.
RECRUITING
The Iron Throne recruits extensively and indiscriminately from among the dregs of society for the criminals it requires to enforce its wishes. Wages are reasonable, normally the prevailing rate for the type of work and geographic area, with generous bonuses for those who demonstrate a genuine flair for their work. The Iron Throne actively recruits adventurers and adventuring parties, hiring them to scour dungeons and other dangerous locales for valuable weapons and armor. The organization pays adventurers well, but insists upon a contract that enjoins the employees from keeping any masterwork or magic weapons or armor they may locate for themselves.
ENCOUNTERS
Encounters with the Iron Throne typically are with their hired agents, such as brigands, smugglers, and thieves, or the merchants who handle their legitimate caravans.
(( Obviously some of the timeline is off for our setting, but I think that writeup nevertheless gives a good indication of their organization, motivation, and tactics. I highly recommend this book for DMs who want to utilize the F.R.'s evil organizations. I highly recommend a similar book, Champions of Evil, for evil player characters. ))
THE IRON THRONE[/u]
The caravan horses reared and plunged, panicking as the brigands charged up and over the lip of the gully that ran alongside the dusty roadway. In moments the wagon train was in disarray. The attack had been so swift that it had left the wagon masters with no time to organize a defense. The grinning brigand leader cantered up to the caravan master, who squinted in the sun to make out the burly man's features.
"Well met, Master Gaedynn!" boomed the armed and armored ride. "A fine day for a journey across these dangerous wild lands, is it not?" Caravan master Gaedynn's ears twitched. He didn't know this brigand, but the criminal clearly knew him. Good intelligence, he mused. This is no ordinary raid.
"Take what you want," he replied in a tone that suggested he was far from happy. "I suspect that we would be unable to stop you anyway."
"You're too kind," said the brigand with a smile. He glanced around at his men, who were swiftly unloading boxes, crates, and barrels from the wagons. Apparently satisfied with their progress, he turned his attention back to the caravan master and said, "Now, Gaedynn, there's the small matter of a conversation you had three nights ago in that tavern, the one with the stupid name."
"The Drunken Drow?" ventured Gaedynn in what he hoped was a helpful manner. The brigand grinned again.
"That's the one! You were speaking with one of your confederates, a certain timber merchant from Baldur's Gate. You told him that you were concerned that you hadn't hired enough guards for this trading venture. You were right, as it turns out, but that's beside the point." The brigand lowered his voice; his smile vanished, and his eyes grew cold. "The important thing is that you told your friend that you suspected that the banditry on this road was being sponsored by the Iron Throne. Again, you were right, but your suspicion will cost you more than trade goods." Faster than Gaedynn's eye could follow, the brigand produced a hand crossbow and shot him through the throat.
On the surface, the Iron Throne appears to be just another merchants' guild. The group is ostensibly dedicated to pursuing a monopoly on the weapons trade in certain parts of Faerun, a goal it has pursued with unbridled zeal. While other merchants and traders have accused the Iron Throne of increasing its share of the weapons trade through such unsavory practices as banditry and murder, such complaints are hardly unusual between competitors. At least, so say the merchants who are the nominal leaders of the Iron Throne.
The truth is that this mercantile company is more than just another band of avaricious merchants out to make a gold piece at the expense of ethics. The public faces of the Iron Throne are merely mouthpieces for the true leaders of the organization, ruthless killers who stop at nothing to achieve the Iron Throne's economic goals. The masters of the Iron Throne think nothing of cutting out the competition with every dirty trick at their disposal. The group's sinister aspects go deeper than mere murder, however. When compared to those of their fellow merchants, the uses to which the Iron Throne intends to put its filthy lucre are certainly more than a little unusual, not to mention dangerous.
BRIEF HISTORY
The Iron Throne is a relatively recent development in the economic history of Faerun. It was originally the brainchild of a unique individual: Sfena, the daughter of a powerful devil. A skilled assassin, she used her talents to serve her father and his internecine wars against the other denizens of Baator. A strange accident befell Sfena during one of her missions to kill an enemy in Faerun, in 1347 DR. Her entire body hardened into a material of crystalline appearance and hardness. The accident that changed her thus also freed her from Baator, allowing her to remain in Faerun. Sfena conceived the Iron Throne as a means of restoring herself. She intended to trade the entire organization to a devil or perhaps another extrapalanar power in return for the restoration of her body. She invented the name of the organization during a speech to her first contingent of minions: "We shall rule the Heartlands with an iron fist. We shall rule them from an Iron Throne, built of the weapons of our trade, and the shackles of our slaves, the common nails of our wagons, and the iron in the blood of those who oppose us. Iron has power, and so shall we."
Sfena's words were prophetic. The Iron Throne quickly gained a sizable stake in the weapons trade, branching out into the area of equipment used for trade and commerce (such as caravan wagons, horses, and the attendant supplies). Sfena's tactics were engineered in such a fashion that her representatives could insist that the organization always acted within the letter of the law. No act of theft, sabotage, or murder was beneath her and her minions, however, and other merchants quickly learned that to cross the Iron Throne meant that they had to be prepared for various kinds of assaults and interventions against themselves and their business.
Sfena disappeared just over a year ago, in 1371 DR, under circumstances that suggest diabolical involvement. Her chief lieutenants suspected that her father, or one of his enemies, spirited Sfena back to Baator. When she vanished, the organization was thrown into chaos. Battle lines were quickly drawn between Sfena's lieutenants, each of whom thought he would make the ideal leader for the coster in their mistress's absence. Sfena's second in command, Krakosh, eventually seized control of the group by allying himself with several other lieutenants. By the time they emerged victorious from the conflict, however, the Iron Throne had already lost ground in the weapons trade. Krakosh and his aides are now engaged in a serious attempt to restore and exceed the organization's former power.
THE ORGANIZATION
Headquarters: Merchant offices in Suzail.
Members: 3,530.
Hierarchy: Segmented.
Leader: Krakosh (Sfena in our timeline).
Religion: The Iron Throne venerates no particular deity as an organization. Kelemvor, Mask, Shar, Waukeen are all popular religions with its members.
Alignment: LN, LE, CN, CE, NE.
Secrecy: High.
Symbol: A stylized iron throne. The group uses a simplified line drawing of this symbol as a trail and property marker.
HIERARCHY
The lower echelon of the Iron Throne is divided into units that function independently. Only Krakosh. Maready, and their closest aides know the entire interlocking structure of the organization. The individuals who undertake the day-to-day operations get information strictly on a need-to-know basis.
MOTIVATION AND GOALS
Krakosh desires, above all things, to locate Sfena and recover her. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the faintest idea where to start looking, and neither does Maready (or so he claims). He has ordered that all members of the organization search the areas in which they do business for signs or rumors of their missing leader. Meanwhile, he intends to increase the operational area of the Iron Throne so that the search area can likewise be expanded. For all he knows, Sfena is in the hands of one of their trading rivals, or rotting in the dungeon of some king, waiting for rescue. He is prepared to scour Faerun for her, and does not hesitate to use whatever means are necessary to recover her. He relies heavily on Maready's judgment and consults the wizard before making any important decisions.
Meanwhile, the Iron Throne is largely Maready's to run as he likes, through his storm giant ally. Krakosh has proven most tractable when it comes to changing business practices. All Maready needs to do is claim or imply that his advice enables the storm giant to make the Iron Throne more successful, thus increasing his chances of finding his lost love. When the time is right and Krakosh has served his purpose, Maready intends to eliminate him and rule the Iron Throne himself. Maready has already convinced Krakosh that the group should begin trading in drugs, acquiring them from the Red Wizards' enclaves and reselling them for higher profits elsewhere.
The rank and file membership consists primarily of merchants, caravan masters, soldiers, brigands, rogues, drovers, craftsfolk, spies, assassins, and saboteurs. The vast majority of these folk, whose number encompass nearly every civilized Faerunian race, have as their primary desire the acquisition of wealth. A limited number desire wealth and power, and from this segment the most talented and skilled are promoted to positions of authority within the organization.
The Iron Throne is actually engaged in the legitimate trade of arms and armor. Their caravans are welcomed in numerous cities throughout the Heartlands for the masterwork and magical weapons they convey (many of which are stolen, salvaged from dungeons by hired adventuring parties, or made by craftsfolk who were cheated out of their rightful profits). The group also smuggles weapons, in order to avoid taxes and other inconvenient laws. Their most successful tactic in the weapons trade, however, is raiding the caravans of their competitors. The Iron Throne is always very careful to ensure that the raiders appear to be nothing more than common brigands. The society encourages its legitimate merchants to strive to maintain an air of respectability. The leadership has found that an appearance of honesty helps defeat accusations to the contrary.
The organization employs a goodly number of agents charged with the task of tracking down and punishing those who cross it. Folk who break contracts with the Iron Throne are likely to be murdered, defamed, or sold into slavery, depending on which option is most expedient and cost-effective.
RECRUITING
The Iron Throne recruits extensively and indiscriminately from among the dregs of society for the criminals it requires to enforce its wishes. Wages are reasonable, normally the prevailing rate for the type of work and geographic area, with generous bonuses for those who demonstrate a genuine flair for their work. The Iron Throne actively recruits adventurers and adventuring parties, hiring them to scour dungeons and other dangerous locales for valuable weapons and armor. The organization pays adventurers well, but insists upon a contract that enjoins the employees from keeping any masterwork or magic weapons or armor they may locate for themselves.
ENCOUNTERS
Encounters with the Iron Throne typically are with their hired agents, such as brigands, smugglers, and thieves, or the merchants who handle their legitimate caravans.
(( Obviously some of the timeline is off for our setting, but I think that writeup nevertheless gives a good indication of their organization, motivation, and tactics. I highly recommend this book for DMs who want to utilize the F.R.'s evil organizations. I highly recommend a similar book, Champions of Evil, for evil player characters. ))