The Pittsburgh–Detroit–Cleveland corridor is a techno-feudal zone where Machine Priests preach that labor is worship and war-factory lords build weapons from salvaged AI relics.
Machine Priests and the Iron Creed
The dominant faith of the Iron Belt is machine worship — maintaining and operating industrial machinery as sacred duty. ARK-7, the AI of justice and war, is centered here, and its influence makes the Iron Belt’s conflicts feel righteous to those fighting them.
The Steel Massacre and Relics
In 2079, a catastrophic event scattered relics across the Iron Belt. Relic hunters search for the legendary Patterned Lung — Lucent Ark technology rumored to grant impossible endurance.
The Forge Below
The Iron Belt’s Mesh layer is digital hell. Recursive torment loops, corrupted data streams, and grinding processes that consume data and sometimes minds.
Continue Exploring
Read: The Day the Relic Sang — Fiction from the Iron Belt
Learn: The AI Pantheon — ARK-7 rules here
Learn: The Forge Below — Digital hell beneath the rust
Rules: Equipment & Gear — Relics and salvage