Creature Types

Iron Kingdoms is home to a variety of frightening and powerful creatures like most fantasy settings. While 4th edition features many monsters with similar features it also has types of creatures that do not exist in Iron Kingdoms. The following should clarify the differences in the many descriptors. These apply their changes to any correlating game rules including, but not limited to; class features, powers, feats, skills and race traits.

Origins

The 4^th Edition origins for creatures are the following: Aberrant, Elemental, Fey, Immortal, Natural, Shadow. The realms implied in the description of these origins do not exist for the most part. However, they are essential to some game rules, and creatures from Immoren do often share characteristics of the various origins.

In general, this category does not apply to an outer planar origin in this conversion. Instead it tends to refer to their terrestrial beginning or source. This is in an effort to categorize creatures for purposes of similar features.

Aberrant: These are creatures whose existence is anathema to the world around them. Dragons and their spawn are the most common aberrations, though some undead, such as Wyldegeist and Void Spirits are also of this type. In general, they follow very few of the natural laws of the world, and often they overtly disrupt them. These creatures tend to be rare.

Aberrations tend to be vulnerable to radiant damage, and occasionally to specific elemental damage types. The natural world and the powers of Urcaen are often capable of weakening them.

Elemental: The natural power of Dhunia and the Devourer Wurm tends to produce elemental creatures. These are not all creatures made by these creator beings, since most natural and magical beasts come from them. However, creatures with an attachment to the various elemental forces (fire, ice, lightning, thunder) are often elementals. In addition, one major category of creature belongs to this group: elemental constructs. The various Wold constructs of the Circle all have the elemental origin.

Elemental creatures usually have an opposed element that they are vulnerable to, though they often have immunity to their own.

Fey: Though there is no fey realm, there is a certain odd kind of magic that surrounds fey creatures. They do not seem to fit in the world, though they are not as directly opposed to it as Aberrant creatures. Fey are almost exclusively Grymkin, and those creatures are mysterious in nearly every way. Other fey tend to be almost oblivious to the rest of the world, and certainly they do not seem to interact with it directly.

Immortal: Creatures from Urcaen have this origin. These tend to be emissaries of the gods and are most often low ranking ones. Very rarely beings like Ascendants and Scions make appearances. Other creatures hailing from realms like the Void or the Veld also belong to this class of beings.

These creatures tend to immeasurably powerful, and would only in very rare circumstances even be balanced for a fight.

Natural: Most creatures have the natural origin. This includes beasts, magical beasts, most undead, humanoids of all races, most constructs, and in general almost everything. The fact is that very few things are different enough from the surrounding world, or from a different enough place to belong to a different classification.

Shadow: This classification belongs to only one group of beings: Infernals. The infernal realm takes the place of the Shadowfell, and many abilities that draw on that realm would be perfectly appropriate as infernalist powers. Creatures from this realm are mostly unknown, and as a result many things could come from there. This is the most unexplored territory, and many of the devils and demons from the Monster Manuals could be made appropriate if need be.

Type

The 4^th Edition types for creatures are the following: Animate, Beast, Humanoid, Magical Beast. Most of these maintain their classification and implications in the rules and fluff without any changes. Keep in mind that constructs like warjacks are considered animates.

4e General Content
A great deal of the new rules set is perfectly usable in the Iron Kingdoms role-playing setting. For the most part this is due to the fact that only is certain cases do the fluff of the Wizards settings actually play a role in game mechanics. In a few cases they do, and we have sections in the site which try to clear up some of those cases. Howeever, there are some aspects which may require a small clarification to make appropriate. Those are discussed below.

Planes
There is very little in the Iron Kingdoms that would qualify as extraplanar. The Infernals come from a different realm of existence, however, it is beyond difficult, and quite undesirable to access. There is also the realm of Urcaen, the afterlife of most sentient creatures on the planet. This afterlife may or may not be the same realm that the Skorne call The Void or that the Elves call The Veld, but they seem very similar. The gods of Western Immoren exist in Urcaen, and very little comes from there in the form of anything but divine magic. Thus, access to planar powers is rare, and tends to only occur through deals with the infernals.

There are many rituals and classes that refer to the planes for their abilities. Any of these specific references are inappropriate, and, in cases where it impacts game mechanics, should be removed. In many of those cases we have something referring to those instances, but we assuredly did not catch every single one.

Power Sources
The four primary power sources in 4^th edition match well with the Iron Kingdoms setting. Martial obviously fits, with the war-like conditions in every era of Iron Kingdoms history. Divine magic also pervades the history of the kingdoms, and it fits well with the religious powers. Arcane magic is universally known in the setting, as wizards and sorcerers are nothing new. Primal is a fantastic power source, and a welcome one to the setting. The people of the wilds have used this power source for a long while, but we have never really had a name for it before. Thus druids were sort of natural arcanists, shamans were divine and fell callers were martial (somehow). Now, with this introduction the connection between these powers can be made more naturally.

Guns in Combat
With the addition of firearms to the battlefield, many new options are open. For the most part, guns act like normal ranged weapons. They have a normal and long range, require reloading and require the user to have line of sight to a target. However, guns do not require any kind of specific positioning of the body to use them, thus allowing them to be used in different ways than other ranged weapons.

Positional Modifiers for Firearms

Kneeling Bonus: While kneeling, you gain a +1 to ranged attack rolls with firearms that have a stock.

No Prone Penalty: While prone you have no penalty to attack when using a firearm.

Guns also have unusual reloading times. It is a more complicated process with these weapons, and often requires drastically more time and effort than it does for a bow and arrow or crossbow. If it requires more than the number of actions one could take in one round, follow the rules in general combat rules regarding multiple actions.
Multiple-Shot Guns
Many firearms have more than one barrel or the ability to fire multiple shots before requiring reloading. In general, this has no game effect except for the fact that the user has more than one shot. However, if the gun is able to fire all barrels at once, it becomes a deadly, if inaccurate, weapon.

Multi-Barreled Firing

Extra Basic Attacks: When firing all barrels at once on a firearm, make a number of basic attacks with the weapon equal to the number of barrels being fired. All attacks must be made against the same target.

Penalty on Attacks: You take a -2 penalty to attack until the end of your next turn, for each barrel you fire over one. Thus, firing three barrels at once carries a -4 penalty to all attacks until the end of your next turn.

New Rules for Mounted Combat
Using a mount in combat is very similar to normal combat. The mount takes the place of your normal movement, and it can run, double move or slide just as you can. All normal movement rules, such as how far each move action takes you, or the action required to slide, for example, are exactly the same, except that all movement numbers are based on your mount's movement speed.
In addition, most actions made in combat are handled as they normally would be. Every combat action, other than the ones listed below, are handled exactly how they are in the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide; assuming it is logical that you should be able to do them while atop a mount. For example, picking up an item from the ground or administering a potion to a downed ally are unlikely while mounted on a horse.
In addition, your mount takes a -2 movement speed penalty if you do not have at least one free hand to control it with.

Rules from the Dungeon Master's Guide
The Dungeon Master's Guide already has most of the rules for mounted combat (DMG pg. 46). These rules almost all apply the way they are written. However, while your mount must be at least one size category larger than you, it is possible that there are medium size or smaller mounts for especially small creatures. In addition, some rules above and below are different than the rules listed in the Dungeon Master's Guide.

Mounted Actions
The following actions are small changes to their corresponding actions in the Player's Handbook. These are being posted to make clear what actions can be performed from a mount, and if they are differnt, in what way. In addition, we added the Crush action, giving a little more to do with your mount.

Bull Rush
You force your mount into your foe, and instead of running him over you push him back.

Bull Rush: Standard Action

Target: You can bull rush a target adjacent to your mount that is smaller, the same size as, or one size category larger than your mount.

Strength Attack: Your make a Strength vs Fortitude attack, using your mount's Strength modifier, and gain a +1 to the attack roll for each size category your mount is larger than the target.

Hit: Push the target one square and shift into the vacated space.

Impossible Push: If there is no square you can push the target into, the bull rush has no effect.

Charge
Your mount moves forward at full speed and, using that momentum, you strike your foe.

Charge: Standard Action

Move and Attack: You must move your mount's full move speed before the attack. At the end of the movement you may make a basic attack or a bull rush.

+2 Bonus to the Attack Roll: You gain a +2 to the attack roll for the basic attack, bull rush, or to the attack roll of any power that utilizes your mount's charge.

Movement Requirements: You must move to the nearest square from which you can attack the enemy. You cannot charge if the nearest square is occupied.

Crush
Your mount runs over a downed foe, crushing him beneath it.

Crush: Minor Action

Target: You can crush a prone target that is at least one size category smaller than your mount and whose square your mount's movement passes through.

Attack: Your mount makes a Strength vs Reflex attack against the creature, with a +4 bonus on the attack roll.

Hit: Your mount deals damage as if it had used a basic attack.

Coup De Grace: This attack may be used as a coup de grace attack against an unconscious and prone target.

Run
You can make your mount move as fast as it can through a battle zone, but it become very easy to strike you when you do so.

Run: Move Action

Speed +3: Move your mount's speed +3. For example, if your mount's speed is 9, your mount can move up to twelve squares when it runs. All running movement on a mount must be made in a straight line.

-5 Penalty to Attack Rolls: You have a -5 penalty to all attack rolls until the start of your next turn.

Grant Combat Advantage: As soon as you start running you grant combat advantage to all enemies until the start of your next turn.

Skills While Mounted
Many skills cannot be performed while mounted. Ultimately it is up to the DM if a specific skill is impossible while mounted.
Perception: You take a -5 penalty to find and follow tracks while mounted.
Stealth: You cannot normally attempt a stealth check to move silently while mounted. You take a -10 penalty on stealth checks made to hide while mounted.
Unaffected: These skills work normally while mounted; Arcana, Bluff, Diplomacy, Endurance, History, Insight, Intimidate, Nature, Streetwise.