From Introduction:
Great empires lap against the feet of the Clawcrest Mountains like oceans against the shore. But who would scale those heights in the name of conquest? Strange peoples make their homes on these icy crags, or in the dismal depths of the caves that stretch out beneath them. The Empires of Man seek only passage through these mountains, so they can wage war and trade on the other side. But dwarves and goblins see something more inside this stone. They can see its riches plainly. And they can see themselves at home here. But neither side can see enough space for both of them, so one will have to leave.
In their war against the dwarves, the rat goblins have, at times, grown desperate. They have, on occasion, turned their hands to experimental magics and dubious devices. Is the metal bear troll one of their more successful enterprises, or merely a waste of time and effort? It has brought them victory on several occasions! But at what cost?
One might think the first and most difficult part of this plan would be obtaining a giant cave bear. But no, this is relatively easy. The rat goblin alchemists have developed substances to lure these creatures into a trap, and then put them to sleep. However, these substances are not cheap, and they are not completely reliable. If the bear is hearty, and resists, it can kill or maim a dozen or more rat goblins before being subdued. And does the danger end there? No, of course not.
The helmet was created from the wreckage of an ancient engine, found deep within the caves below the rat goblin fortress. There were civilizations here before the present occupants, and they wrought powerful sorceries in the name of progress. The goblin fortress was carved out by the fire giants, but there were others here before them — Drastapuri cultists, alchemists from Mëolgysst, mind-wizards from Hyrnaceia, the list goes on. Unlike you, the adventurers of old brought armies with them.
But goblin sorcerers are resourceful scavengers of other people’s traditions, and they use whatever they can find. Some hammering and a few improvised orcish runes later, and they had themselves something more than just an ancient source of mechanical power. Now they had a living siege engine — a force of pure destruction.
The engine feeds off the life energy of the giant cave bear that wears it, and there are no openings for it to eat, so this weapon is only temporary in nature. The alchemists have found ways to supplement the diet of the bear by stuffing it full of nutrients beforehand, but once it burns through them, a new bear is needed. But while it lives, the hated dwarves will die. The bear is too big for many of the more claustrophobic goblin mines, but for the more expansive dwarven passageways, it is just the right size: too big to be
flanked. Those who face it only ever gaze upon its back with eyes too dead to see.