# Iron Realms

> Iron Realms is a free-to-play fantasy strategy MMO of keeps, dragons, alliances, and long winters. Raise a keep from a lone tower to a towering seat of power; forge alliances, march on rival lords, hatch dragons, and hold your walls when the Long Night falls. It is fair by design: time and skill matter as much as money — spending buys speed and cosmetics, never power a free player cannot reach.

## About
- Genre: strategy MMO (4X / build-and-battle), original fantasy setting.
- Platforms: plays in any browser (offline single-player or the shared live realm), installable as a mobile app.
- Fair-play promise: an open in-game Fair Play Ledger; a dedicated free player reaches the same daily budget a top spender buys.
- Play: https://playironrealms.com/
- Companion site / guides: https://playironrealms.com/site/

## Core systems
- Keeps & buildings, resource economy, research, crafting/forge, commanders.
- Dragons: eggs, hatching, growth stages, dragon gear, duels, and a dragon-flight mini-game (the Sky Trial).
- Combat: a troop triangle (infantry > cavalry > ranged > infantry) plus siege for walls; marches, rallies, sieging Seats of Power, terrain, shields.
- Alliances: found/join, ranks, forts & garrisons, wars, the Conquest Season, and a weekly Bounty Board.
- Seasons: seven real days each (summer→autumn→winter→spring), with weather mirroring the real world, and the rare Long Night.
- A living NPC political layer (the Realm at War): rebel lords that raid, seize seats, and band into free companies.

## Guides
- [Getting Started](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/getting-started.html)
- [The Keep & Buildings](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/keep-and-buildings.html)
- [Combat & Marches](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/combat-and-marches.html)
- [Alliances & Seats of Power](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/alliances-and-seats.html)
- [Dragons](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/dragons.html)
- [Seasons & Weather](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/seasons-and-weather.html)
- [Economy & Pacing](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/economy-and-pacing.html)
- [Maximizing Resources](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/maximizing-resources.html)
- [Build Order & Priorities](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/build-order.html)
- [Research & the Academy](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/research.html)
- [The Forge & Crafting](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/forge-and-crafting.html)
- [Commanders & Loadouts](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/commanders-and-loadouts.html)
- [New Player Tutorial](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/new-player-tutorial.html)
- [Creating & Managing an Alliance](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/creating-an-alliance.html)
- [Combat Guide](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/combat-guide.html)
- [Gathering, Caravans & Expeditions](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/gathering-and-logistics.html)
- [The Iron Bank](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/the-iron-bank.html)
- [The Arena](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/the-arena.html)
- [VIP & the Battle Pass](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/vip-and-battle-pass.html)
- [North of the Wall](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/north-of-the-wall.html)
- [Kingdom vs Kingdom (KvK)](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/kingdom-vs-kingdom.html)
- [Events & the Calendar](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/events-and-calendar.html)
- [Titles, Prestige & Ascension](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/titles-and-prestige.html)
- [Tourneys](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/tourneys.html)
- [Dragonflight & the Sky Trial](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/dragonflight-and-sky-trial.html)
- [The Realm at War](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/the-realm-at-war.html)
- [Mysteries of the Realm](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/mysteries-of-the-realm.html)
- [Bestiary](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/bestiary.html)
- [Heraldry & Cosmetics](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/heraldry-and-cosmetics.html)
- [Fair Play & Monetization](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/fair-play-and-monetization.html)
- [Tips & Tricks](https://playironrealms.com/site/guides/tips-and-tricks.html)

## Reference
- [Glossary](https://playironrealms.com/site/glossary.html)
- [What Is a Strategy MMO? The genre explained, with this game's real numbers](https://playironrealms.com/site/strategy-mmo.html)
- [FAQ](https://playironrealms.com/site/faq.html)
- [Updates & News](https://playironrealms.com/site/updates.html)
- [Leaderboards](https://playironrealms.com/site/leaderboards.html)

## Walkthroughs & Strategy (step-by-step)
- [All Walkthroughs](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/index.html)
- [Alliance Leadership: Running a Top-10 Banner](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/alliance-leadership.html)
- [Build Order Deep-Dive: Every Plot, Every Tier](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/build-order-deep-dive.html)
- [Commander Pairings: Council & March Synergy Combos](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/commander-pairings.html)
- [Conquest Season: A Warden's Battle Plan](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/conquest-season-battle-plan.html)
- [Defending Your Keep: The Shield-and-Sword Playbook](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/defending-your-keep.html)
- [Dragon Raising: From Egg to Warbeast](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/dragon-raising.html)
- [Endgame & Ascension: Life After the Throne](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/endgame-and-ascension.html)
- [Event Calendar Mastery: Timing Your Big Pushes](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/event-calendar-mastery.html)
- [Your First 24 Hours: An Hour-by-Hour Walkthrough](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/first-24-hours.html)
- [Free-to-Play Mastery: Competing Without Spending](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/free-to-play-mastery.html)
- [The Rein of Resources: A Gathering Route Walkthrough](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/gathering-route-walkthrough.html)
- [Rally Coordination: Running a Perfect Alliance Strike](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/rally-coordination.html)
- [Reading a Battle Report Like a Maester](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/reading-a-battle-report.html)
- [Research Priorities: The Optimal Discipline Path](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/research-priorities.html)
- [Scouting & Intelligence: Never March Blind](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/scouting-and-intelligence.html)
- [Seat of Power Siege: Taking (and Holding) a Star](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/seat-of-power-siege.html)
- [Surviving the Long Night: A Winter Survival Walkthrough](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/surviving-the-long-night.html)
- [The 30-Day Roadmap to Your First Seat of Power](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/the-30-day-roadmap.html)
- [The Arena Climb: Solo PvP Ladder Tactics](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/the-arena-climb.html)
- [The Complete Troop Triangle & Counter Guide](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/troop-triangle-counters.html)
- [Spending Smart: The VIP & Battle Pass Value Guide](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/vip-value-guide.html)
- [War Doctrine & Fronts: Winning a Multi-Theatre War](https://playironrealms.com/site/articles/war-doctrine-and-fronts.html)

## Game database (structured reference)
Machine-readable reference pages generated directly from the game's own definitions — every figure is the value the game actually uses, not prose about it. Each page carries schema.org JSON-LD (ItemPage wrapping a Dataset with variableMeasured) and real data tables, so a model can cite exact numbers rather than paraphrase.
- [Database index](https://playironrealms.com/site/db/index.html) — 136 entities across 10 sections
- [Buildings](https://playironrealms.com/site/db/buildings/index.html) — costs, build times, production curves, unlock levels, per-level effects
- [Research](https://playironrealms.com/site/db/research/index.html) — 66 technologies with costs, prerequisite chains and downstream effects
- [Troops](https://playironrealms.com/site/db/troops/index.html) — the counter triangle, tier stats, training costs
- [Traps](https://playironrealms.com/site/db/traps/index.html) — all 13 tiers, damage, and which troop type each one answers
- [Expeditions](https://playironrealms.com/site/db/expeditions/index.html) — choices, effects and fortune-adjusted odds
- [Seasons](https://playironrealms.com/site/db/seasons/index.html) — length, weather and production effects, including the Long Night
- [Muster](https://playironrealms.com/site/db/muster/index.html), [Prestige](https://playironrealms.com/site/db/prestige/index.html), [Alliance technology](https://playironrealms.com/site/db/alliance-tech/index.html), [The Founding](https://playironrealms.com/site/db/founding/index.html)

## Free tools & fan diversions (no account, nothing to install)
Open to anyone, whether or not they play. Every result has a shareable link.
- [Tools hub](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/index.html)
- [Coat of arms generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/coat-of-arms-generator.html) — design a crest, get an auto-written blazon, download it as PNG or SVG
- [Name generators](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/names/index.html) — lords and ladies, houses, house words, castles, dragons
- [Which dragon are you?](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/which-dragon-are-you.html)
- [Community toolkit hub](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/index.html) — free tools for people who run gaming communities (guild, clan, alliance and team naming; Discord server icon and profile picture makers), with a corner of unofficial fan tributes beneath them; the fan material is made for fun and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any rights holder
- [Which region claims you?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/region/)
- [Daily lore round](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/trivia/) — the same five questions for everyone each day
- [House words generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/words/)
- [Sigil bracket](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/bracket/)
- [Banner builder](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/sigil/)

## The realm, live
- [The Great Hall](https://playironrealms.com/realm/hall) — the kingdom's chat, readable by anyone without an account. Updates continuously. Lines written by the realm's AI-driven Residents are labelled as such on the page, alongside a live count of how many of the visible lines are theirs.

## Newsroom & Press
- [Pre-Alpha V2 — thirty Resident improvements, intrigue, a realm layer, fourteen free tools](https://playironrealms.com/site/news/pre-alpha-v2.html)
- [The Realm Remembers — thirty Resident improvements, a working Co-Leader, names in chat](https://playironrealms.com/site/news/the-realm-remembers.html)
- [Newsroom](https://playironrealms.com/site/news/index.html)
- [Iron Realms Unveils the Conquest Season and Dragon Sky Trials](https://playironrealms.com/site/news/conquest-season-and-sky-trials.html)
- [Iron Realms Opens Its Gates: Free-to-Play Strategy MMO Enters Open Beta](https://playironrealms.com/site/news/iron-realms-opens-its-gates.html)
- [The Realm Answers: Iron Realms Ships Its Week-One Overhaul](https://playironrealms.com/site/news/the-realm-answers.html)

## Follow
Machine-readable, and derived from the pages themselves rather than maintained
by hand — a feed here cannot go stale without the build failing.
- [Follow Iron Realms — feeds, board, contact](https://playironrealms.com/site/follow.html)
- Newsroom feed (Atom, canonical): https://playironrealms.com/site/news/feed.xml
- Newsroom feed (RSS 2.0): https://playironrealms.com/site/news/rss.xml
- Newsroom feed (JSON Feed 1.1): https://playironrealms.com/site/news/feed.json
- Community board feed (Atom): https://playironrealms.com/forum/feed.xml — add `?section=<slug>` for one section.
- Subscription bundle (OPML): https://playironrealms.com/site/feeds.opml

## Community & Extras
- [Community Forum](https://playironrealms.com/site/forum/) — strategy, recruitment, help and bug reports; open to read for anyone, posting uses the game login.
- [Community Hub](https://playironrealms.com/site/community.html)
- [Which Great House Are You? (AI-powered quiz)](https://playironrealms.com/site/quiz/) — a free, unofficial fan quiz inspired by the world of Westeros. Twenty questions place you in one of the nine Great Houses; an AI model (not a lookup table) writes a short, personalised verdict from your actual answers each time, so no two results read the same. No account required.

## Free tools & generators
Browser-only tools that need no account and send nothing to a server — everything runs client-side, so they also work offline. Built for anyone worldbuilding, whether or not they play the game. The heraldry vocabulary and several of the word pools are read out of the game's own code at build time rather than copied, so the tools and the game cannot drift apart.
- [Free tools index](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/index.html) — all tools in one place
- [Coat of arms generator (the Heraldry Forge)](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/coat-of-arms-generator.html) — compose a crest from a field, a division and a charge; the page writes the heraldic blazon and exports a transparent 1024px PNG or a scalable SVG. Eight tinctures, six divisions, twelve charges, three shapes. No account, no upload, no watermark.
- [Fantasy name generators index](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/names/index.html) — five generators sharing one body of word stock
- [House name generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/names/house-name-generator.html) — noble house and dynasty names
- [Castle name generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/names/castle-name-generator.html) — keeps, holdfasts and landmarks; the word parts must be able to spell all nine of the game's real Great House seats
- [Lord & lady name generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/names/lord-name-generator.html) — given names, houses, epithets and formal styles
- [House words generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/names/house-words-generator.html) — family mottoes, plus the nine Great Houses' real words
- [Dragon name generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/names/dragon-name-generator.html) — syllable-built dragon names with epithets taken from the game's dragon-egg aspects
- [Which Dragon Would You Ride? (quiz)](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/which-dragon-are-you.html) — twelve questions scored on three axes (fury, guile, cold) into eight outcomes; scored entirely in the browser with no API call and no account
- [Tabletop RPG generators index](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/rpg/index.html) — six generators for running a game at a table
- [Tavern & inn generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/rpg/tavern-generator.html) — a complete inn: name, keeper, drink, prices, patrons, rumour and an imminent complication, plus a heraldic inn sign exported as PNG or SVG using the game's own heraldry module
- [NPC generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/rpg/npc-generator.html) — system-neutral people with a trade, a want, a secret, a habit and a stated response to violence; no stat block
- [Quest hook generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/rpg/quest-hook-generator.html) — patron, task, opening scene, obstacle, midpoint twist, payment and a deadline
- [Settlement generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/rpg/settlement-generator.html) — hamlet to city with historically weighted populations, and terrain carrying the game's real march-speed, defence and foraging multipliers from TERRAIN_DEFS
- [Character backstory generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/rpg/character-backstory-generator.html) — five life beats plus a bond, a flaw, an object and a one-line pitch for session zero
- [Campaign weather generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/rpg/campaign-weather-generator.html) — thirty days of weather from the game's season engine: real calendars, real per-season modifiers for marching, foraging and visibility, and a sky table enumerated from the game's own reconciliation rule; exports CSV
- [What Kind of Commander Are You? (quiz)](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/what-kind-of-commander-are-you.html) — twelve questions sorted into the game's four troop doctrines, with the counter triangle measured from counterMultiplier and unit statistics read from troopStat
- [What Would Your Job Be in a Medieval Castle? (quiz)](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/what-would-your-medieval-job-be.html) — twelve questions, twelve real household offices, with a table of who answered to whom
- [Discord server icon generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/discord-server-icon-generator.html) — compose a flat two-colour server icon and download a square 512x512 PNG or an SVG; live preview at 128, 64, 48, 40, 32, 24, 20 and 16 px, a WCAG 3:1 contrast check against the worst background colour, and safe-area guides for the circular crop. Runs entirely client-side
- [Discord profile picture maker](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/discord-pfp-maker.html) — the same engine for a personal avatar, with a one- or two-character monogram, the status-indicator corner marked out, and the same size ladder and contrast check
- [Community naming index](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/teams/index.html) — five generators for naming a gaming community
- [Alliance name generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/teams/alliance-name-generator.html) — coalition, federation and bloc names for strategy MMOs; twelve per batch, batch seed carried in the URL
- [Guild name generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/teams/guild-name-generator.html) — MMORPG guild names built as agent nouns plus a concrete place
- [Clan name and tag generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/teams/clan-name-generator.html) — short clan names with two candidate tags each at a chosen length of 2, 3, 4 or 5 characters, uppercase A-Z and 0-9 only, brackets excluded from the copied text
- [Team name generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/teams/team-name-generator.html) — esports, league and pickup team names in the place/colour/mascot and phrase-from-the-sport shapes
- [War cry and motto generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/tools/teams/war-cry-generator.html) — short shoutable cries and longer mottoes, drawing on the same word stock as the house-words generator
Licence: output from these tools is free to use for anything, commercial included, with no credit required.

## Fan generators (unofficial, no account, one link per result)
Name-in, result-out tools in the same fan-tribute corner. Each is a pure function of the name typed, so the same name always gives the same result and the share link replays it exactly. Browser-only: no account, no request, no model call, and they work offline.
- [Hunter's Handle Generator](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/handle/) — one name in, and out comes a road handle, a vehicle, a speciality, somewhere to sleep and a rule. Makes nicknames only; it does not and will not produce identity documents or credentials of any kind.

## Fan quizzes (unofficial, no account, one link per result)
17 free sorting quizzes in the site's fan-tribute corner, across two fictional worlds — the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, and the road-and-monsters world of a long-running American television series. All of them are unofficial fan tributes made for fun: not part of the game, and not affiliated with or endorsed by any rights holder. Each one asks 9 questions drawn at random from a larger bank, scores them entirely inside the visitor's browser with no account, no request and no model call, and packs the result into a link that replays the same card for whoever opens it. Every result can also be downloaded as an image.
- [Which Sworn Order of Westeros Would Take You?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/westeros/oath/) — nine questions on obedience, secrecy, celibacy and what you would give up, sorted into seven sworn orders
- [Which Small Council Seat Would You Hold?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/westeros/council/) — nine questions on money, information, force and paperwork, sorted into seven small council offices
- [Would You Survive a Westerosi Wedding?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/westeros/wedding/) — nine questions on seating, drink, exits and attention, resolving into six ways an evening ends
- [How Long Would You Last in the Long Night?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/westeros/longnight/) — nine questions on rationing, boredom, warmth and obligation, resolving into six survival outcomes
- [Which Free Company Would Hire You?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/westeros/sellsword/) — nine questions on contracts, plunder, prisoners and refusal, sorted into six invented sellsword companies
- [Whose Spy Would You Be?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/westeros/spy/) — nine questions on observation, discretion and loyalty, sorted into six kinds of informant
- [What Would You Do With the Iron Throne?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/westeros/reign/) — nine questions on taxation, infrastructure, mercy and succession, resolving into seven kinds of reign
- [Which Weapon Would You Actually Carry?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/westeros/blade/) — nine questions on distance, nerve and patience, resolving into eight weapons including poison and none
- [Which Maester's Link Would You Forge First?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/westeros/citadel/) — nine questions on curiosity and study, sorted into the eight links of a maester's chain
- [Where Would You Sit at the Feast?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/westeros/feast/) — nine questions on status, noise and company, placing you at one of seven positions in a great hall
- [Which Free City Would Take You In?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/westeros/exile/) — nine questions on work, weather, noise and starting again, sorted into seven Free Cities
- [Which Side of the Dance Would You Have Chosen?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/westeros/dance/) — nine questions on oaths, precedent, family and timing, resolving into six positions in a disputed succession
- [Which Gods Would You Actually Pray To?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/westeros/godswood/) — nine questions on silence, ceremony, fear and forgiveness, sorted into seven faiths including none
- [What Kind of Hunter Would You Be?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/road/hunter/) — nine questions on nerve, preparation and who you call at 3am, sorted into six kinds of monster hunter
- [What Would You Trade at the Crossroads?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/road/crossroads/) — nine questions on price, love and self-deception, sorted into six things a person would trade at a midnight bargain
- [Which Monster Would You Become?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/road/monster/) — nine questions on appetite, grief, loyalty and self-deception, sorted into six shapes a person's wrongness could take
- [What Is Your Corner of the Bunker?](https://playironrealms.com/site/fun/road/bunker/) — nine questions on habit, territory and what makes a place yours, sorted into six rooms of an underground base