[[quoteright:293:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Iron_5969.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:293:Our heroes!]]
''Ironclaw'' is a TabletopRPG of Anthropomorphic Fantasy published by Sanguine Productions. Its first edition came out on 1999, with its second edition released in 2010. The setting is a LowFantasy setting with the themes of a MedievalEuropeanFantasy experiencing [[TheRenaissance the rise of the flintlock, the musket and the merchant classes as powerful influences]]. The big difference is that all the races that live in this game are [[PettingZooPeople anthropomorphic]] [[FunnyAnimal animals]].

''Ironclaw'' takes place in the continent of Calabria, the majority of the lands controlled by the Great Noble Houses:

* '''Avoirdupois''': The House of horses, chivalrous and austere, with a history of [[BurnTheWitch strong]] [[FaithHeelTurn religious convictions]]. Their army is the strongest in Calabria, though their hesitance to modernize might spell their downfall.
* '''Bisclavret''': The House of wolves who cast off their [[NobleSavage traditional roots]] to claim the resource-rich woods, giving them control over lumber production (and subsequently, shipbuilding). They are for the moment the House most interested in progress and innovation.
* '''Doloreaux''': The House of boars, beset on all sides by rival Houses and with only enough farmland to subsist, is the most aggressive of all Houses. The official religion is the worship of a [[MotherNature fertility goddess]] and, naturally, the clergy is all female.
* '''Rinaldi''': Greatest of the Great Noble Houses, the grey foxes count the High King of Calabria as one of their own. They rule from the city of Triskellian, the greatest of all cities and the origin of the continent's biggest religion. Sadly, their titles are hollow and their rule is wavering. The true powers of the city are the Guild Masters. Still, the House basks in their remaining power and plays at still being relevant.

Apart from the Great Noble Houses and their vassals, two other forces lay claim to territories in Calabria:

* '''Phelan''': These are the wolves who continue to keep their old ways, the five clans continuing to live as their great-grandfathers did. To outsiders, this is a land untouched by civilization and fraught with dangers. They even say that goblins known as the Morrigna live in these dark woods.
* '''Chevernaise''': Goat-tribes who inhabit and lay claim to the Rothos Mountains, something that infuriates the Doloreaux to no end.

The players take the role of adventurers plucked from the new middle class. They have esoteric skills and abilities above the common unskilled laborers, and have access to expensive equipment. Meanwhile, the nobles of Great Houses fight their petty wars for more power, and are not above using those below them as pawns in their game. The world is waking up to an Age of Reason where technology is slowly catching up to magic and the old ways of government are being questioned.

----
!!''Ironclaw'' Provides Examples of:
* AnimalStereotypes: Each of the species detailed have their own quirks and stereotypes. Note that these are ''InUniverse'' examples of stereotypes, as well; the Species Descriptions are largely how the other species see ''each other''.
** Armadillos: Tough-skinned pacifists with a penchant for introspection.
** Badgers: Artisan homebodies. The most stable of the mustelids.
** Bats: As the only flying mammals, they suffer FantasticRacism, with some notable overtones of the UsefulNotes/{{Romani}}.
** Bears: [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Pagan seafarers and explorers]] slowly being assimilated into cosmopolitan life.
** Boars: Tough, relentless, and [[TheDeterminator determined]] to prove [[AnythingYouCanDoICanDoBetter how much better they are]].
** Bulls: Uncomplicated, steady, and hard-working [[TheBigGuy big guys]].
** Common Cats: Everymen and the most urban of felines.
** Cheetah: HotBlooded [[LightningBruiser lightning bruisers]].
** Coyote: [[TheDrifter Wanderers]] with a lot of knacks they've picked up along the way.
** Deer: Graceful [[AwesomenessByAnalysis to the point]] of appearing to have [[BornLucky miraculous luck]].
** Dholes: [[HumansAreAverage Not as ferocious as a wolf, nor as charismatic as a fox, not as clever as a coyote or as calculating as a jackal.]] Basically, what common cats are to the felines.
** Common Dogs: [[MasterOfNone Masters of none]] who differentiate themselves from other pack species by being [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits all-]][[TrueCompanions inclusive]].
** Donkeys: Patient, hard-working and unlucky. The species portrait shows one about to be hanged!
** Gray Foxes: [[RoyallyScrewedUp Blue-blooded]] [[DeadlyDecadentCourt aristocrats]] whose Noble House claims the title of [[AuthorityInNameOnly High King]].
** Red Foxes: An entire species of [[{{Keet}} keets]]!
** Goats: Self-sufficent independents with NoSocialSkills.
** Horses: A species fixated on [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy honor and chivalry]], with a history of sliding into KnightTemplar territory.
** Jackals: Ruthless canines with an [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder unsavory reputation]].
** Lions: Male lions are [[BoisterousBruiser charming and charismatic]], if a bit too [[LargeHam exuberant]]. The no-nonsense lionesses seem to be the only ones immune to their glamour.
** Lynxes: Cold-weather felines with an [[NatureHero affinity for the outdoors]].
** Monkeys: [[TricksterArchetype Everything you've ever heard about monkeys is true.]] If they haven't done it already, some monkey is doing it right now, or will have by the end of the day.
** Mice: One of the weakest of the species, who make up for their size with [[ChurchMilitant unwavering faith]].
** Otters: Graceful swimmers with a [[ChaoticNeutral spinning moral compass]].
** Panthers: Ruthless, competent [[{{Leader}} leaders]].
** Porcupines: [[TheStoic Quiet, contemplative]] servants and clerks.
** Rabbits: Mess with one and [[TheClan you mess with every one of them.]]
** Raccoons: As much a [[TricksterArchetype trickster]] as monkeys, except with [[StickyFingers more fidgety hands]].
** Rats: [[HadToBeSharp Survivors]] through and through.
** Ravens: Eccentric and intelligent [[DeadpanSnarker snarkers]].
** Rhinos: Biggest of the [[BigGuy big guys]] and [[GentleGiant gentle giants]].
** Shrews: The unwashed masses, [[TorchesAndPitchforks handmaidens to Madame Guillotine and heralds to King Mob]].
** Skunks: Due to their [[SmellySkunk reputations]] preceding them, skunks either show beatific patience or [[BerserkButton lash out at the slightest provocation]].
** Sparrows: Being creatures of the sky, they really don't get [[ChaoticGood the whole feudal system all the ground-creatures seem to base their entire lives around]].
** Squirrels: [[TheCollector Hoarders supreme]] be it material, magical or abstract.
** Tigers: The [[SuperiorSpecies exotic, beautiful foreign species]] who could almost fit as the [[OurElvesAreBetter elven race]] [[BadAss of Calabria]].
** Voles: As devoted to a cause as mice, just a lot more monastic and sedentary.
** Weasels: [[CloudCuckoolander Impossibly mercurial]].
** Wolves: [[NobleSavage Ferocious but wise]] with a tendency to explain everything [[OralTradition through a story]].
* BadassCreed: Every character is supposed to have a motto that describes their outlook on life. Acting out according to said motto earns you more experience points.
* BlackSpeech: Semi-subverted. Night Speech is an ''ultrasonic'' language that can only be spoken by Bats (who can echolocate), though other races with "Keen Ears" can learn to ''understand'' it. Though not an inherently evil tongue, due to the bats' [[FantasticRacism reputation]], others treat it as such.
* BlackMagic: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Unholy]] magic. It doesn't make you evil, but since it's so damn ''[[DangerousForbiddenTechnique dangerous]]'', it often doesn't matter either way.
* CarnivoreConfusion: Subverted. ''Ironclaw'' and ''Jadeclaw'' took a page from ''UsagiYojimbo'' and introduced an entire ecosystem of lizards, dinosaurs, and lizardy birds which fill the usual niches of livestock, beasts of burden, pets, and wildlife. Pests include both small lizards and oversized insects; WordOfGod has mentioned beetles the size of cats.
* ChunkySalsaRule: If you score an overkill (or are subject to one), the result is being so horribly mutilated that allies will become afraid. There's also not enough left for Necromatic spells requiring corpses to work on the victim, and not enough for the game's only genuine resurrection spell to work ''fully'' -- it can resurrect them, but they're too badly mangled to be restored good as new and are permanently disfigured.
* CriticalFailure: If you have a D4 in a skill, you are likely better off not using it at all.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Necromancy and aggressive Blessed magic draws on the power of [[OurGhostsAreDifferent the angry dead]]. This would not be so bad, except it also gives said dead a chance to influence the living world; Sample backfires include [[UnstoppableRage one possessing an unconscious person and working out it's issues with the living]], [[TheUndead possessing a corpse]], or [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking being spooky]].
* DualWielding: The Ambidexterity gift allows you to wield two weapons (and more if you have prehensile feet and tail), even [[GunsAkimbo pistols]].
* ElementalPowers: Being an Elementalist lets you have access to this.
* FantasyGunControl: Averted, as pistols and other firearms are available in the game.
* FeatherFingers: Avian species have wings for arms, but can somehow swing a sword as easily as any other species. The raven depicted in the species art is carrying a bag and cane.
* LeParkour: A gift that [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin lets you do just that]].
* LightTheWay: Access to Thaumaturgy lets you do this.
* LovableCoward: Any PC with the Coward gift. You can actually make yourself afraid (as it gives bonuses to dodge and run)!
* MassiveRaceSelection: Just look at the Animal Stereotypes.
* {{Metaplot}}: Subverted. The first published adventure and the first tie-in novel deal with the murder of the High King and most of his family, and the search for the sole surviving heir. It became the common touchpoint for almost every campaign using the official setting -- but ''every campaign resolved it differently'', with far-reaching impact on the rest of the political situation. (It also immediately established ''Ironclaw'' as a game where beginning characters can be ''kingmakers''.)
* MysteriousAnimalSenses: Each Species in ''{{Ironclaw}}'' has one or two Natural Senses, but no more; when using those senses, they can include their Species Trait in their Observation roll. Some Species have Gifts that improve those sense even further (Keen Eyes, Keen Ears, Keen Nose), or provide exotic sensory abilities like Echolocation.
* NaturalWeapon: Comes with being an anthropomorphic animal.
* NoNameGiven: To [[IKnowYourTrueName protect yourself from magic]], there's a gift that lets you forsake your name.
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: In order to avoid [=PCs=] being mowed down by lucky [[OneHitKill shots]], there are gifts that allow you to avoid it with appropriately dramatic results.
* NotUsingTheZWord: None of Sanguine's material ever, ''ever'' uses the word "[[FurryFandom Furry]]". Officially, these are ''anthropomorphic animals''.
* OhCrap: What happens to an ally of a recently [[ChunkySalsaRule overkilled]] character-they literally become [[StandardStatusEffects Afraid]] if they're vulnerable to it.
* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: They're known here as the Morrigna by the Phelan and look like the cross between a wolf and a raven.
* PretentiousLatinMotto: Every denar (the standard coinage) bears the motto of Calabria, ''Rex una, republicus una'' in the [[AltumVidetur Magniloquentia language]].
* ShoutOut: the cover of the first edition was a deliberate homage to ''{{Slayers}}'', with Lina and Naga as a Fox and a Wolf.
** One sample character, a vixen warlock known as the "bandit killer" is a continuation of the above; it's more obvious in the first edition where the character is Lina in all but name and species.
** There is Mount Eisengrim, named after Ysengrim the wolf of the Renard Cycle.
** The Bisclavret are named after a 12th Century French poem of the same name. It's about a werewolf.
* ShownTheirWork: particularly noticeable with the Phelan, whose culture is based heavily (and accurately) on pre-Christian Celtic society. The Phelan calendar is based on the actual Celtic lunar calendar, and the {{Druid}}s are much closer to the priestly caste of history and the mystics of folklore than to the nature priests of modern fantasy.
* SlidingScaleOfAnthropomorphism: codified in the ''game mechanics''. The Race Trait (Species Trait in Second Edition) is an attribute that ranges along the same scale as Body, Mind, and the rest, and indicates just how strong your animal heritage is. There's no direct connection to physical appearance stated, but the art suggests that the inhabitants of Monderévelé range from Type 1 to type 3, with "Atavists" who tread the line into Type 4.
* StealthPun: The Avoirdupois are well known for their Chivalry. [[spoiler: Cheval means horse]]
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: You can talk freely on your turn, but you'll have to wait until the other person's turn for them to reply. Talking may be free, but a conversation is not.
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: What happens when you score six or more successes on a damage roll, which leads to [[ChunkySalsaRule messy results]]. The art work demonstrating an overkill shows the victim [[TakeOurWordForIt dying off panel]].
* ThrowItIn: the species descriptions in the second edition were originally written by the section's artist, to provide himself with a mood and theme for each image. They were too good ''not'' to use.
* WordOfGod: Sanguine has maintained an active mailing list since 1999, and many details of the world background, game mechanics, and design philosophy have been discussed over the years.

----