The Iron Caps were once barber surgeons, men and women whose function was to support their fellow soldiers. During the uprising, those same soldiers learned just how deadly a straight razor can be even when one is wearing full armor.
Hammering a fleam into a man on the battlefield isn't so different than doing so on a surgeon's table. The only real difference is that -- on the battlefield -- the wielder won't make any effort to stop the bleeding.
When the uprising began, the barber surgeons stole iron helmets from the bodies of their enemies, dyed in the blood of the dead. The red caps let them identify one another amidst the chaos of battle. The blood eventually rusted the metal, but the practice of painting one's helm with the blood of their first kill has become a rite of passage for every person who joins this mercenary band.
The Iron Caps are a troupe equal parts outlaw and mercenary. As a result, they often assemble their own armor with pieces scavenged from fallen enemies. Given how the group is made up of former surgeons, the foremost priority is that one's outfit be easy to clean.
These gauntlets can be used as both armor and surgical gloves. Some enterprising members of the Iron Caps have even designed a modified version with scalpels attached to the fingertips, to make surgery (and torture) even easier to perform.
The Iron Caps have never been a group obsessed with fashion. For the group's members, the bloodstains are actually seen as badges of honor, marks of experience that distinguish the veterans from the rookies.
It's often said that the Iron Caps have waded through rivers of blood, both on the battlefield and in medical tents.
The Iron Caps tend to eschew jewelry, mainly because there are too many ways such pieces could interfere with surgery. This ring, though, is given to every member of the group and is never taken off.
It's whispered that the Iron Caps' medical background can be used for more than just simple surgery. There are stories -- usually only told after a few drinks -- of limbs being reattached or replaced. There's no confirmation to these tales, but no one can deny that the coloring of their horses hasn't been seen anywhere else in West Kruna.