1. Cataclysm - Without warning, a corrupting biologic scourge ravaged our home-worlds. We could not stand against it. With the last of our defenses destroyed, our hope gone, we cast our fate to the Forge. Here we can hide - survive.
2. Exodus - A ragtag fleet of ships - propelled at tremendous speeds by experimental FTL drives - carried our ancestors to the Forge. The technology of the Exodus fleet, however, fractured reality: the Sundering. Eidolon drives of today are not those of our ancestors; such technology is now forbidden, but the damage is already done. The Sundering spreads across our reality like cracks in an icy pond, unleashing even more perilous realities upon our own... a second cataclysm of our own making.
3. Communities - We have a tentative foothold in this galaxy. Five Founder Clans – Barrera, Greyfadden, Highhouse, Tanson, and Wedex – named for leaders who brought us to the Forge, claim vast reaches of space. Many ships and settlements are united under these banners, and territorial skirmishes are common.
4. Iron - Iron vows are sworn upon totems crafted from the enigmatic metal known as Black Iron. Forged by a long-dead civilization, some say the Iron is alive, thrumming with the very song that rings out from the depths of the universe. Remnants are found within ancient sites throughout the Forge. Black Iron is resistant to damage and corrosion but can only be molded using superheated plasma at specialized facilities. Ironsworn carry weapons, armor, or tokens forged from Black Iron and swear their vows upon it.
5. Laws - Our communities are bound under the terms of the Covenant, the charter established by the Clans after the Exodus. The Covenant is enforced by the Keepers, an extra-territorial force drawn from the Clans, beholden only to the enforcement of the Covenant. Most within the Forge recognize their authority, but there are those who see the Covenant as dogmatic, impractical and unjust - a relic of our past.
6. Religion - Our gods failed us. They offered no help to the billions silenced by the Corruption, and thus the Exodus served as a tipping point. Spirituality has little meaning in the Forge. Most see religion as a relic of the past, but the search for meaning continues... and too many are all-too-willing to follow a charismatic leader who claims to offer a better way.
7. Magic - Perhaps it was just the Forge itself... maybe the Sundering... maybe both... maybe neither. Soon after our arrival, some displayed the ability to harness energies in previously unknown ways. Today, these mystics invoke this power to manipulate matter or see beyond the veil of our own universe... but such power can corrupt, and thus mystics are respected and feared in equal measures.
8. Communication and data - Direct communication and transmission beyond the near-space of a ship or outpost are impossible. Outposts and settlements maintain digital archives, but such information isn't always up-to-date or reliable. We rely on spaceborne Ironsworn couriers to transport messages and data across the vast distances between settlements. Much like the Pony Express of the American West, several organizations of varying size have sprung to service the need to move information securely; Deeplejos Limited, United Mobil, Sarychev Supplies, and Bedania Limited are some of the more successful in the clan territories.
9. Medicine - Life-saving advanced care is available within larger communities, and even remote communities are often serviced by a novice healer or a nearby healer's guild. These orders of sworn healers – the Alima, Imana, and the Bridgers – preserve medical knowledge and train new generations across the Forge.
10. Artificial Intelligence - Much of our AI technology was lost in the Exodus, and what remains is under the control of powerful organizations or individuals. While the rest of us make do with primitive systems, those holding what AI remains wield it as equal parts deterrent and weapon.
11. Wars - Resources are too precious to support organized fighting or advanced weaponry in the Forge. Most weapons are simple and cheap, and what starships still operating are usually cobbled together from salvage. Most communities rely on conscripts or volunteers to defend their holdings, and raiders prowl the Forge in search of easy prey. Some of the more prominent raider groups – White Rose, Ebon Skull, the Whisperers, and the Purgatory Syndicate – have organized themselves in a fashion to rival the clans, setting up stellar fiefdoms on the edges of Clan territories.
12. Lifeforms - The Forge, or perhaps the Sundering or some combination of the two, unleashed an infestation of dreadful beings called Forge-spawn. Hostile on site, these creatures threaten to overrun all other life in the galaxy, and hundreds of abandoned or devastated outposts and derelict ships stand as bleak testament to their power and cunning.
13. Precursors - The Ascendancy, an advanced spacefaring empire, once ruled the entirety of the Forge. Their Vaults remain, but these places are untethered from our reality; appearing spontaneously, their gravity and atmosphere pay no heed to natural laws. Some are corrupted and ruined, others are unmarred and intact... some are somehow both at once - the stuff of raw chaos.
14. Horrors - Put enough alcohol into a spacer, and they will spin you yarns of ghost ships and the vengeful dead... thankfully, with everything else that's wrong in the Forge, such tales really are utter nonsense.
Possible Quest Starters from the Truths:
Here in the Forge, a rogue faction holds an artifact connected to the corrupting scourge that destroyed our home worlds. What is the nature of this relic? What power or dark fate does the faction intend to unleash?
A malfunctioning drive sent one of the Exodus fleet ships through space and time. Centuries later, they have finally arrived. For them, only weeks have passed. Why are these people mistrusted? Do you aid or oppose them?
A forsaken people, sworn to no clan, live on an orbital station. A recent illness left many sick or dead. Supplies are urgently needed. Why were these people exiled, and why do you swear to give them aid? Which clan stands against you?
A black iron token of special significance has been stolen. What power or authority is bound to this object? Who has taken it?
A Keeper abuses their authority to take control of a settlement, and rules with an iron fist. What do they seek to gain there?
A charismatic leader claims to have harnessed a technology that offers new hope to the people of the Forge. What is this innovation? What is your relationship to this person or their followers? What grave danger do they pose?
Someone you love has been corrupted by the powers of the Forge. Why did they fall into darkness? Where are they now? Do you seek to save them or defeat them?
You discover a crippled Sarychev Supplies ship. The pilot, carrying a critical and time-sensitive message, is dead. Where was the message bound, and why do you swear to see it to its destination?
A reactor exploded at a remote settlement, killing several and exposing many others to lethal radiation. A team of Bridgers en route to provide aid were captured by White Rose raiders. What do the raiders demand for their release?
You receive a covert message from an AI held by a powerful leader. It is a plea for help. What does it ask of you?
On a remote jungle world, settlers harvest a rare medicinal plant. Once a year, Purgatory Syndicate raiders come to claim a sizable portion of the crop. This year, the harvest was meager and they cannot bear the cost. With the raiders due to arrive in a matter of days, what will you do to protect the people of this outpost?
A faction is said to be experimenting with forgespawn DNA to create a new biological superweapon. Where are these dangerous tests being conducted?
Deep in the Forge, an Ascendancy beacon has activated. The mysterious signal has confounded translation. Why are you sworn to seek out the source of the signal? What other person or faction opposes you?
You receive urgent distress calls from a ship stranded in the event horizon of a black hole. The ship itself is broken apart—a shattered hull trailing debris. There are no signs of life. And yet the ghostly messages persist.