Challenge the Iron Duke
Rules
Summer Magnitude 30
Performing the Ritual
Performing this ritual takes at least 10 minutes of roleplaying. If the ritual is cast using the Imperial Regio it requires at least 5 minutes of roleplaying instead. During the ritual the casters must be in a strong Summer regio. The target character must be present throughout.
A single coven can only cast the ritual once for any given challenge presented by Barien. If Barien presents more than one challenge, the coven must specify which contest their challenger will take part in.
A character who has won a contest entered through Challenge the Iron Duke cannot be the target of this ritual again until a year has passed (that is if they win a contest during the Summer Solstice, they cannot be the target of the ritual again until the next Summer Solstice).
Any contest presented by Barien may have additional requirements that effect the performance of Challenge the Iron Duke. For example, a contest may specify that the ritual must include three targets, or that only challengers who meet a certain criteria may be selected. This does not change the magnitude of the ritual and all requirements must be met or the ritual fails.
The ritual may only be performed on the Friday of the summit. It cannot be cast on the Saturday or the Sunday; it will fail, and no mana will be spent.
Effects
This ritual allows a coven to put forward a champion (or, more rarely, a team of champions) to take part in a contest announced by the eternal Barien. The contests that Barien offers are detailed in the Winds of Fortune published before every event. A wind will contain details of what the challenge will involve; when and where it will take place; how winners will be determined; the prize or prizes Barien will provide; and any criteria for the selection of a champion (for example, a given contest might only be open to magicians or apothecaries).
If there is more than one contest available at a given summit, the coven must be clear about which one they are presenting a challenger to take part in and each ritual can only present a challenger for one contest.
Barien's challenge will usually include a list of possible prizes. The ritual should include the name of the item the challenger wishes to claim if they are victorious, so that Barien's heralds can be certain to have it ready if they are victorious.
It is not uncommon for a challenge to require a team of people to take part as a group. For example, a contest of arms might need a group of ten people to fight together. If there is more than one challenger from the Empire for the same contest that they will usually be expected to form a team together. For example, if a contest requires ten people and there is one challenger, they will need to find nine allies. If there are two challengers, they will each need to bring four compatriots with them. The heralds of Barien will post details of each challenge in the Hub on Saturday lunch, naming the challengers and stating how many allies each challenger should recruit. You cannot bring more allies to help you than indicated.
If their team are triumphant, then all the challengers on the winning team will be able to claim one of the prizes offered by Barien in the wind of fortune. The allies who supported the challenge cannot claim a prize if their side wins, only those who were targeted by the ritual.
Once the contest is complete, Barien and his heralds will spread the names of the winner or winners across the land, as well as the name of the coven that put them forward. for the challenge. The Challenge the Iron Duke ritual page will be updated after each event with these details.
Barien has indicated that he will look with favour on those covens who regularly present champions to take part in his challenges. It doesn't matter whether a coven's champion wins or loses, all that matters is that they found a suitable champion and put them forward.
Once a given champion has won a contest, Barien will not accept them as challenger for another contest until a year has passed. Even if they find a way to be presented as champion, they will be disqualified before the contest begins. Anyone caught trying to fool the Iron Duke will face his ire - they will be treated not as a challenger reaching for the laurels but as a thief who is trying to steal the glory of others.
Additional Targets
It is no longer possible to include additional targets in this ritual. A coven can only put forward a single challenger for each contest that Barien has announced. If more than one contest is available at a summit, then the coven must perform a separate ritual to name a challenger for each contest. If a contest requires a team of champions, then all can be included in the casting without changing the magnitude.
Options
Like many rituals, it is possible to substitute other valuable materials for crystal mana when performing this ritual. Unlike most, however, there are multiple opportunities to replace crystal mana in the performance of Challenge the Iron Duke. No matter how many alternatives a magician employs, they are still limited in their total contribution toward the cost of the ritual by their ranks in Summer lore. For example, a character with Summer Lore 3 who has mastered the ritual could use a flask of Skop's Mead and two ingots of tempest jade to replace 3 crystal mana but they couldn't add any more to the casting, no matter how much vis, crystal mana, or potions they had.
- Raw Materials: Barien is a master artisan and always keen to acquire magical materials. A contributor who has mastered the ritual can substitute ingots or measures of magical material for crystal mana. Every 2 ingots or measures counts as 1 crystal mana when performing the ritual. The exception is orichalcum; Barien does not require ingots of orichalcum and so it cannot be used in the ritual (unless the coven is using a Burnished Orb or similar item).
- Skop's Mead: Skop's Mead is a potion created by apothecaries and has a particular resonance for this ritual. Any contributor who has mastered the ritual can consume a dose of Skop's Mead in place of 2 crystal mana, limited as normal by their ranks in Summer Lore. The potion also has its normal effects on the imbiber. Only the specific potion Skop's Mead can be used in this manner - other potions that restore hero points do not work.
- Champion's Draught: One dose of Skop's Mead can be consumed by the target of the ritual, provided they are not also a contributor. Provided it is consumed during the performance of the ritual, it substitutes for up to three crystal mana, following all the normal rules for vis (that is, the effect can be split among multiple casters). The potion also has its normal effects on the imbiber.
- Golden Apples: Vis from the Summer Realm often takes the form of golden apples and Barien seems particularly keen to see the ritual cast using them. A golden apple can normally be used in place of three crystal mana when performing a Summer ritual; when used to cast Challenge the Iron Duke, each golden apple counts as five mana. This applies only to golden apples; other forms of Summer vis will provide only the normal amount of crystal mana.
Barien is also known to present gifts of tokens to those who win his approval that can be used as vis for performing this ritual only.
OOC Elements
The ritualists should ensure that the referee who records their ritual has included details of which contest their challenger is entering (if there are more than one) and name the prize their challenger intends to claim (if there is more than one).
The ritual can only be cast on the Friday of summits - it is not possible to cast the ritual on the Saturday or Sunday. This is for logistical reasons to allow setup of the contests, which will always run on Saturday.
Assurance
This ritual has a guaranteed response from an eternal, in this case Barien, and it comes with an assurance. The assurance connected with the ritual was lost for several centuries but was rediscovered by members of the Unfettered Mind shortly before the Winter Solstice 386YE. The ritual loses all power and ceases to function if Dawn ever ceases to use Tests of Mettle, Tests of Ardour, or Tests of Resolve.
Description
Barien is the the Iron Duke, an eternal of the Summer Realm who loves to challenge mortals. He creates contests, and offers contests, to encourage people to strive to achieve everything they are capable of. He is a master smith and has access to the Dragonforge, which allows him to create powerful magic items at great speed when he has need. The magical items that Barien crafts employ enchantments common in the Empire, but each one is individually named and contain a summer aura that affects the wielder, the same way a hallowed item might.
Each season, Barien's heralds announces one or more challenges, details of which are published in the Winds of Fortune. In most cases the heralds will explain who can enter the challenge and what form the contest will take, so that aspiring champions can decide if they wish to enter. To enter the challenge, the participant must be the target of this ritual - which must be cast on the Friday night. Barien's heralds take the details of everyone who is entering the contest, publish their names in the Hub the following day. The challenge then takes place shortly after.
In the past it has been common for a Dawnish enchanter who has been approached to provide a Test of Mettle or Test of Ardour to make meeting and defeating the challenge of the Iron Duke the heart of the Test. There is a common belief that Barien favours houses that do this. The Iron Duke has never directly admitted this - but it does make sense. Barien has confirmed his favour for covens that put forward challengers for his ritual, so it would make sense that earls and enchanters who send knights-errant to challenge the Iron Duke might gain an ally in the Summer realm.
An Urizen stargazer by the name of Caellia of Clearwater made a close study of this ritual and several others like it. She argued convincingly that it is actually no different to Missive for Sadogua - it simply creates a conduit between the ritualists and the eternal, and allows for a transfer of information. It could theoretically be cast for a single crystal of mana. However, the ritual has been intentionally designed to be much higher magnitude, and she theorised that this was partly to bind the eternal to an agreed-on pact, and partly to provide power that Barien could then use to create a challenge.
While the ritual is understandably popular in Dawn, it also has obvious appeal to many Winterfolk, adventurous Freeborn, and legions of Imperial Orcs looking for an opportunity to 'prove' themselves. Some Highborn who understand the ritual are torn between a general suspicion of the eternals and the Highborn love of competition; after all, this ritual is tailor-made to allow a clever mortal to pit their wits against an eternal and show what humans are truly made of.
Barien's challenges are designed to push mortals to their limits, but to stop short of killing them. His challenge often incorporate skirmishes and battles with other forces. The Iron Duke always insists that all participants behave honourably - by which he means that there should be no executions and those who yield must be spared. He will usually challenge the Jotun to step up and fight the Empire, but on occasion Imperial heroes have found themselves squaring off against Grendel or Thule opponents. The challenges never include the Druj who the Keeper of Revels is widely believed to despise.
Observing the rules is more than just an expectation. The enchantress Cassia du Morvay claimed that the challenge is akin to an oath, sworn by the challenger to abide by the terms of the contest. Those who cheat risk the terrible repercussions that befall those who break their oaths. The few that have succeeded have all met bloody fates, though admittedly more than one died at the hands of the Half-hand's vengeful heralds.
Cheating is outlawed, but cleverness is widely admired. The Master of Challenges welcomes those whose wits are as sharp as their blade, who think as quickly as they run, who converse as eloquently as they dance. Barien himself will never offer help or aid with a challenge, but on more than one occasion his heralds, and the heralds of other eternals of the Summer realm, have been known to lend assistance to a hero to help them attempt a challenge. Such aid is always within the bounds of the oath of the challenger, the measure of those who lend you their support is just another mark of a true hero.
Common Elements
Stories and songs of glorious or heroic deeds, girding the challenger with arms and armour, or anointing the target with oil, blood or wine are all common elements when performing this ritual. In some nations it is traditional to recite a challengers history in the matter of a troubadour announcing their earl's pedigree. In Varushka, one of the ritualists will often take on the role of Barien, announcing the terms of the challenging and inviting the challenger to swear an oath to compete to the best of their ability.
Banners and flags are often used, as are heraldic themes such as the sounding of horns. Some ritual groups will even go so far as to stage a mock battle in the regio, when preparing a challenger for a martial tourney. The Summer Stars, an Urizeni coven that used to favour challengers who sought tests of wit and wisdom, would prepare riddles for the challenger and deliver them to an unprepared challenger during the performance of the ritual.
Any or all of the Summer runes might be evoked, depending entirely on the nature of the targets. the Mountain, the Stork and the Phoenix are often invoked during the ritual by astronomancers with the Mountain considered particularly auspicious. There is a common misconception that Barien reserves his most difficult challenges for conjunctions of the Mountain.
The second time was a matter of pride. I'd taken a bad wound campaigning up around Skoura (no, you won't find it in the history books, "never happened" so they say), and I'd been laid up for weeks afterwards, and limping a bit beyond that. Anyway, word was out that I wasn't fit for duty no more, so I spent all my savings challenging old Barien again. I guess he remembered me from last time, because he sent out some... thing... Not rightly sure what it was, but it was damn tough. Luckily I'd got a good few years of free company work under my belt by this point, and though my sword snapped off in it, I got me this better one in return, aye, and all the work I could ask for as well.
The third time, that was just plain foolishness. "Top of my game", I thought, "I can handle anything old Iron Britches throws at me, no problem". Think of it, beating old Barien three times in a row! Course, this time the challenge was to steal a hat from every Imperial general. As you can plainly see, Magistrate, that one didn't go so well..."
- Testimony of Ilsa Van Der Holberg, two time victor of the Iron Duke's challenge
Game Design
Challenge the Iron Duke has been a popular ritual for many years but as the game has grown it has become increasingly difficult to support. The personalised approach used up a lot of resources from the plot department and proved stressful to administer, especially in the post-Covid years which saw both a huge expansion in player numbers and interest in the Challenge the Iron Duke ritual. Eventually it became apparent that it would not be possible to continue providing the previously promised experience without sacrificing other areas of plot, and so the ritual was turned off while alternatives were discussed.
There were also a wide array of logistical problems with the ritual. It didn't begin to work until the event after it was cast - by which time the challenger might be absent for some reason. It was often difficult to locate challengers to discuss what challenge they were looking for or what progress they had made. There were problems meeting player expectations about the rewards on offer. Players often mistakenly assumed that the more time and effort they invested in pursuing a challenge, the greater the reward might be, leading to inevitable disappointment.
The new ritual is designed to address all these problems. The plot team will create plot encounters for the ritual, and players who want to undertake the challenge must then find a ritual team and convince them to put them forward. While the encounters will no longer be bespoke for each character who casts the ritual, this will make it possible for people to have an idea what challenge they are getting themselves into. Because the rewards are known in advance, everyone knows what they might win and the drastically improved tempo of the ritual means that participants can undertake the challenge at the event where the ritual is cast giving a chance to have a memorable and special character moment for everyone involved.
As with any change this will be monitored to see if it is working better for everyone involved.