# ### **Basic Information** - **Name:** The Steel Hunters - **Alias/Nicknames:** The Hunters, The Scrap Pack, The Metal Seekers - **Type:** Technological Scavenger Guild/Mercenary Company - **Symbol/Emblem:** A stylized hunting spear piercing a gear, surrounded by a circle of circuit-like patterns - **Headquarters/Base of Operations:** The Foundry, a fortified compound built into the ruins of a crashed skyship in northeastern Numeria - **Scale & Reach:** Regional operation throughout northern and eastern Numeria, with contacts in neighboring nations for artifact trading ### **Purpose & Goals** - **Primary Objective:** To locate, recover, and profit from Numerian technological artifacts while maintaining independence from the Technic League - **Core Ideology:** Technology is power and wealth; those who control it control their destiny; knowledge should be earned, not freely given - **Methods & Operations:** Organized expeditions, artifact recovery, reverse engineering, mercenary protection, and black market trading - **Notable Activities:** - Conducting methodical searches for undiscovered crash sites - Recovering and cataloging technological artifacts - Selling or trading recovered technology to the highest bidders - Providing armed escort for travelers through dangerous technological zones - Maintaining a database of technological knowledge independent from the Technic League ### **Structure & Leadership** - **Leader(s):** Vex Ironhand, a former Technic League researcher who broke away to form his own organization - **Hierarchy & Ranks:** - **The Forge Master** – Vex Ironhand, leader and chief technological expert - **The Hunt Masters** – Five lieutenants who each oversee a specialized division - **Pathfinders** – Elite scouts who locate new technological sites - **Harvesters** – Specialists in safely extracting and transporting artifacts - **Guardians** – Combat specialists who protect operations and assets - **Artificers** – Technologists who study and repurpose recovered items - **Traders** – Negotiators who handle the sale and exchange of artifacts - **Recruitment & Membership:** - Selective recruitment based on useful skills and proven reliability - Prospective members must complete a dangerous retrieval mission as initiation - All members sign a binding contract with strict confidentiality clauses - Advancement through demonstrated success and contribution to the organization - Approximately 200 full members with various specializations - **Key Figures:** - **Vex Ironhand** – Founder and leader, a brilliant technologist with a cybernetic right arm - **Lyra Swiftblade** – Head of security and combat operations, former mercenary captain - **Thorne Gearwright** – Chief artificer responsible for reverse engineering discoveries - **Kell Pathfinder** – Master scout with extensive knowledge of Numeria's geography - **Mira Blackmarket** – Lead negotiator and trade representative ### **Influence & Power** - **Allies & Affiliations:** - **Independent merchants** who deal in technological goods - **Certain Kellid tribes** who trade information for protection - **The Deepforged Syndicate** – Dwarven smiths interested in technological metallurgy - **Various border towns** that benefit from their trade and protection - **Enemies & Rivalries:** - **The Technic League** – Their primary competitor and threat - **The Ghost Wolves** – Tribal confederation with whom they compete for resources - **Black Sovereign's forces** who enforce League monopoly on technology - **Numerian bandits** who prey on their expeditions - **Rival scavenger groups** competing for the same artifacts - **Reputation & Public Perception:** - Viewed as dangerous but reliable mercenaries by border communities - Considered criminals and poachers by the Technic League - Respected for their technological expertise and professional conduct - Known for honoring contracts and maintaining client confidentiality - Feared for their ruthless efficiency in eliminating competition - **Military/Magical Strength:** - Approximately 50 elite combat specialists with technological enhancements - Access to recovered weapons and defensive technology - Small but well-equipped fleet of modified vehicles for rapid deployment - Limited magical capabilities, primarily focused on technological integration - Extensive defensive measures at their headquarters and outposts ### **History & Lore** - **Founding & Origins:** - Established approximately 15 years ago by Vex Ironhand after his defection from the Technic League - Initially a small group of specialists focused on targeted recovery operations - Grew rapidly after several high-profile successful expeditions yielded valuable artifacts - Survived early attempts by the League to eliminate them through superior tactical planning - Established their current headquarters after discovering and securing a relatively intact skyship crash site - **Major Historical Events:** - **The Schism** – Vex Ironhand's dramatic departure from the Technic League - **The Battle of Screaming Valley** – Devastating defeat at the hands of the Ghost Wolves - **The Foundry Establishment** – Securing their current headquarters - **The Silver Circuit Discovery** – Finding a cache of communication technology that revolutionized their operations - **The League Infiltration** – Successfully placing spies within the Technic League's lower ranks - **Scandals & Secrets:** - Vex Ironhand maintains a secret communication channel with certain League captains - The organization has experimented with integrating alien technology into human subjects - They possess a partially functional AI recovered from a crash site that advises leadership - Several members are actually technological constructs designed to appear human - The Foundry is built around a still-active power core from the original skyship - **Current Struggles:** - Increasing pressure from the Technic League's systematic efforts to eliminate competition - Territorial disputes with the Ghost Wolves over prime scavenging grounds - Dwindling supply of easily accessible artifacts requiring more dangerous expeditions - Internal factions disagreeing over how to use the most powerful recovered technologies - Maintaining operational security against League spies and informants ### **Culture & Traditions** - **Core Values & Ethics:** - Professionalism and reliability in all dealings - Knowledge is earned through effort and risk - Technological advancement is the path to freedom and power - Contracts are sacred and binding - Loyalty to the organization above personal gain - **Rituals & Initiations:** - The Hunt – A dangerous retrieval mission to prove worth and commitment - The Marking – Receiving a technological implant that identifies membership - The Forge Oath – Swearing loyalty to the organization and its principles - The Calibration – Regular gathering where knowledge and discoveries are shared - The Remembrance – Ceremony honoring members lost during operations - **Notable Sayings/Mottos:** - "What is buried shall be found" - "Steel in hand, knowledge in mind" - "The hunt never ends" - "Through risk comes reward" - "We forge our own destiny" - **Symbols of Authority:** - The Master's Gauntlet – Vex's technological arm, symbol of leadership - The Hunt Badges – Specialized devices that indicate rank and division - The Foundry Key – Access device for the organization's headquarters - The Circuit Rings – Communication devices worn by leadership - The Archive Access – Tokens that grant entry to the organization's knowledge repository ### **Additional Notes** - **Vibe & Inspirations:** - Professional treasure hunters in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi setting - Corporate mercenary group meets archaeological expedition - The calculated risk and reward of technological salvage operations - The moral ambiguity of technological exploitation versus preservation - **Adventure Hooks:** - Competition with the Steel Hunters for a newly discovered crash site - Hired to provide protection for a dangerous expedition - Investigation of stolen artifacts traced back to their operations - Rescue mission for a team that has gone silent in a technological ruin - Negotiation for a specific piece of technology in their possession