The Iron Wardens

**Requirements:** Wyrd 2+, Any of Brawl, Firearms, or Weaponry 3+, Occult 2+, Mantle (Summer) 1+

**Origin tales:**

1. One day a Summer Courtier found a company of a Roman Legion that had wandered into the Hedge by accident. Apparently the horrors of the Hedge simply caused the men to form a shield wall and hold the line. Their iron blades kept the hedge back and the Summer Courtier promised to lead them home for training in their way of fighting.
2. Are the Gentry the true threat? Or is it the Hedge that you move through everyday? You give the Hedge more chances at your life than you give the Gentry and sometimes it takes those chances. The first Iron Warden swore to defend her Freehold not just from the Gentry, but the dangers of the Hedge itself and forged a title for herself to make a statement that there would always be a guardian.
3. Once the gates to the Hedge were more common than they are now. In those days, the gates did not fade but remained always open. Hobs could enter freely and took many people, making more hobs and hedgeghosts. A Motley calling themselves the Wardens sought to quell the tide. Led by their smith, Black Horse, they forged weapons of iron and struck at the hobs, reducing their numbers and thus how often they could raid. Their armor would be remade into tokens over time when their iron weapons rusted away.

**Legends:**

1. One day, The Coppered Smith was walking through the Hedge and came across a powerful Goblin King. The Goblin king wanted to challenge the champion of Summer and offered to wrestle him. The Smith asked a Boon for victory and the King agreed, but should the Smith lose a curse would be bestowed instead. They wrestled for 5 minutes until finally Smith was defeated. The Goblin King said “Your curse is thus. Whenever danger comes to your freehold or your friends, somehow it will always find you first.” The Coppered Smith was shocked for, as he told the Goblin, that would have been his wish.
2. A Tyrannical Warden sat atop his throne on his land in the hedge, passing judgement on the Goblins as they approached. He gave harsh decrees to each of them, terrible punishment and rarely rewarded success. The goblins were about to revolt. As a detachment from the Gentry rode over the hill, The battle hardened Warden gathered his men and held the Trod. They battle night after night, holding their opponents at bay. On the 5th night there was nothing, no fight, no bloodshed. The Keeper’s detachment rode off, leaving the Warden and his troops battered but not beaten. The loss would have been far too great if the enemy chose to win.

**What We Do in the Shadows:**

“I have pushed back the Thorns. I have flattened the land. I have subjugated the local goblins. **Give me what I am due.**” - The First Warden upon taking the Entitlement.

An Iron Warden is one who has armed themselves and has declared the very Hedge to be their Domain and they will defend it to the end. For Obvious reasons, the Hedge does not like this. It is a testament to the will of those changelings that seek this Entitlement that it exists at all.

The Wardens look at the Hedge as the gateway to Arcadia. They would love to cut off Arcadia properly from the world by removing the Hedge (and a few of them are secretly Bridgeburners) but most recognize that will never succeed. Instead they seek to control the land in the Hedge around their Freehold so none can pass.

Massive fortresses raised over Trods, goblins forced to serve in their army, and carefully prepared Hollows tell the story more clearly than any words can. When the enemy comes, be it a powerful Goblin Lord or a Keeper themselves, the Wardens will be waiting with barred blades.

**Mask & Mein:**

The Warden begins to grow spots of rust between joints, starting with the fingers and toes, slowly these spots begin to further appear at the corners of lips and elbows. Their body slowly manifests scars around their ankles and knees as if they have been marching through thickets, these scars look faintly metallic.

**Bequeathal:**

Joining isn't so much finding another warden and asking for entry. Joining is finding your land and taking it. Owning the land by mind and body is what the Wardens are all about. Might makes right for this entitlement and only when the land recognizes you as its lord and master does it bend the knee. It may take months of beating back the thorns and flattening the land for trods and subjugating the local goblins for the land to finally break. Wardens rule with an Iron fist and have no one to tell them otherwise.

**Token: Iron Will [1-5]**

The iron will is a bracelet that is strangely made of wood, it appears to be gilded in some kind of iron appearing material. Upon activation the Bracelet polishes itself into a fine silver with an opalescent gloss over it. This token grants a bonus to any resistance trait checks against hedge denizens (Fetches, Goblins, Gentry) equal to its token rating for the turn. Additionally, you may share the bonus with a number of others equal to the token’s rating.
**Activation:** Reflexive
**Catch:** The Attacker has the highest power stat among the enemies.
**Drawback:** The scene after they return from the hedge, they lose their mask.
**Blessings**

* [1] This blessing lets the changeling regain 1 Glamour whenever she regains Willpower through her Needle in direct pursuit of her role. She may spend the Glamour immediately on anything she likes or store it in her heraldry token for later use. The token can store up to her Wyrd in Glamour. If she can neither spend nor store it, it’s lost. All stored Glamour empties at the end of the story.
* [1] Choose one of the following specialties: Academics (Strategy), Survival (Hedge, Goblin Fruit), Intimidation (Goblins), Occult (“Hedge Ghosts”). The chosen speciality also gains exceptional on three successes instead of five.
* [1] Additional Thread.
* [1] Hedge Traveler: Gain 8 again on all Hedge navigation and hedge chase scenes (Conditional)
* [1] Infuriate: Your hatred for your foes can be shared with them, causing them to lose their cool.

**Iron Wardens’ Curse (Royal)**
**Cost:** 2 Glamour
**Action:** Instant
**Dice Pool:** Presence + Intimidation + Wyrd vs. Resolve + Wyrd
**Dramatic Failure:** You find the curse striking against you. You gain the Berserk condition for three turns
**Failure:** Nothing happens
**Success:** Your Target gains the Berserk Condition for successes in turns
**Dramatic Success:** Your target gains the Berserk condition and his only target can be you. If you somehow make yourself untargetable (e.g: invisibility or intangibility) then the condition returns to normal.
**Touchstone:** A disenfranchised member of a community, likely an ex-felon.

**Clarity Curse:** Clarity attacks suffered while failing to prepare in a time of peace add damage dice equal to ranks invested in this Merit.

**WP:** Once per scene, Gain a WP when you bring a mortal into the hedge to assist in combat.