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Ironsworn is a PbtA-inspired tabletop roleplaying game that focuses on the oaths (quests) that players undertake in pursuit of meaning and fulfilling their destinies. The original Ironsworn ruleset was published in 2018 by Shawn Tomkin and takes place in a harsh, brutal landscape inspired by the Norse and Icelandic sagas. Ironsworn stands out from the PtbA crowd due to its ability to be played solo, with the aid of included random encounter generation tables (called Oracles) that help players create thematic high notes within the story. There is an outstanding youtube series by the talented and incredibly entertaining Trevor Devall that follows a lone adventurer through a dramatic story of self discovery and character growth using Ironsworn that I highly recommend (even if you aren't interested in Ironsworn as a ruleset, the series is a top shelf watch for the story alone). Watching this series really helped me grasp the foundational rules and gain an appreciation for how they support the key themes of the fiction. Ironsworn features a familiar set of Moves that serve as conflict resolution, with an added focus on building bonds with others, and on undertaking perilous journeys across an unforgiving, largely uninhabited landscape. Along the way, players will find themselves juggling the desire to push on (or veer off the beaten path) with the need for self preservation via basic resource management. Certain negative status effects that are often the result of extended travel are best remedied in the sparse communities that are themselves often struggling to survive. This gives the whole game a compelling sense of danger and isolation in the wild vs. comfort and safety among those you trust. The most common social norm in this setting is that of the Iron Vow, a sacred promise made by touching iron (a rare commodity) and stating a goal, often in the presence of witnesses. Iron Vows can be used as a form of social currency, to right old wrongs, or as an official promise of revenge. In game terms, the player(s) decide how challenging a given Iron Vow will be, and the reward for achieving the goal is Experience in proportion to its hazard. Experience is then used to purchase and upgrade Assets, which are thematic signifiers that grant bonuses for certain Moves under special circumstances. These vows can be short-term, one session affairs, or epic undertakings that require extensive playtime to resolve. The author has generously made the core Ironsworn rules freely available for download on this site. Here is a short summary of the dice mechanism that drives the game. Roll 1d6 (your Action Die) and add your relevant attribute to get a value. Also roll 2 d10s (the Challenge Dice) and compare your result against the d10s. If your score is higher than both, you achieve your goal with great success. If you beat one of the dice, you succeed but at a cost. If you roll lower than or equal to both, you fail and endure consequences. As an added twist, if the d10s match on a strong hit you get a narrative boon. If they match on a miss, a worst case scenario event unfolds. Fans of PtbA games should recognize the feel.  The core Ironsworn setting also has an expansion called Delve that expands on rules for creating dungeons, caves, and other locations that can serve as hideouts for bandits, treasure troves of forgotten lore, lairs for horrific monsters, or burial chambers best left sealed. This is a worthy addition to the core rulebook and offers an added layer of complexity that my group has very much enjoyed. And finally, there is a standalone, sci-fi themed edition of Ironsworn called StarForged that takes place in a sci-fi setting. I have not played this one but I have heard good things. To close out, here are the things I love about this game: 1. Theme and setting are very evocative of a certain culture and genre, more so than any other system I've played 2. The creator has gone out of his way to make the game material inclusive, which is very important given how co-opted the Norse motif has been by chuds 3. Ironsworn enables collaborative storytelling so successfully that my group has run maybe 12 sessions without a GM, with no issues 4. The emphasis on physical, emotional, and spiritual journeys has led to some really interesting character arcs and relationships within our group 5. The game is simple enough that we invited a relatively inexperienced RPer to play with us and she's had an awesome time (she bounced off D&D hard) 6. The rules encourage a worldbuilding Session Zero where everyone gets together and hashes out the features of the setting (high / low fantasy, small / huge landmass, populated / depopulated, etc) 7. The system encourages a fountain-of-ideas approach but also adds inspiration tables for jump-starting the process 8. There is a near infinite capacity for homebrewed Assets, so players can build very personalized abilities - I've never seen a system that enables open ended character creation so well Much like other PbtA games, a certain group composition and vibe will go a long way toward making Ironsworn enjoyable for all. Players who value somewhat freeform storytelling will likely embrace the system. FLIPADELPHIA fucked around with this message at 20:14 on May 12, 2022 |
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May 12, 2022 04:45
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Starforged is great and I highly recommend it! While intended for sci-fi some people have "backported" the rules changes it makes to Ironsworn and basically play the Ironsworn setting using slightly-house ruled Starforged rules. As for those changes, to quote EdgeofDreams from the Ironsworn Discord: quote:What are the biggest/most important differences between Ironsworn and Starforged's rules? In Starforged... Speaking of which, those interested in either game should join the Ironsworn Discord Also, now that Starforged has released, the author, Shawn Tomkin, has started to begin initial work on one of the Starforged kickstarter stretch goals, which is something I am EXTREMELY excited for; Sundered Isles.  Basically the Ironsworn system for Age-of-Sail adventure. 
Galaga Galaxian fucked around with this message at 05:01 on May 12, 2022 |
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May 12, 2022 04:57
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Hey thanks for the assist with Starforged. My group is pondering it for our next campaign, though we're having such a blast with the current one, I think we'll stay in it for quite some time. And also thanks for including the discord link. There is a huge amount of I-poo poo-you-not great homebrewing going on there with Assets and other rules adjustments.
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May 12, 2022 05:06
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I'm not too into sci-fi (and what do you mean you can't play an alien RAW?), but I still bought Starforged so I could backport the changes. Worth it. Edge 3 is now a decent way to play. I also love that there are more ways to get experience, since vows felt a bit narrow. If I go though my notes with the discovery track in mind, I'm pretty sure I get at least a couple more XP. Maybe I can get enough to buy the new fugitive asset (which seems strong as hell by the way) since the giants are likely to have some issues with my character in the near future.
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May 12, 2022 06:02
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You can totally play an alien if you want, the default setting just assumes that humanity is the only (current, known) inhabitants of the Forge. That said there is no "you are an alien" asset, but you can always reflavor something if your alien has weird abilities. And yeah Fugitive seems like a good one, but every time you use it that is another clock segment filled in for some major trouble catching up to you.
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May 12, 2022 06:41
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Good OP.FLIPADELPHIA posted:The core Ironsworn setting also has an expansion called Delve that expands on rules for creating dungeons, caves, and other locations that can serve as hideouts for bandits, treasure troves of forgotten lore, lairs for horrific monsters, or burial chambers best left sealed. This is a worthy addition to the core rulebook and offers an added layer of complexity that my group has very much enjoyed. Reminder that if you bought the Racial Justice and Equlity itch.io bundle, you already own this on pdf.
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May 12, 2022 11:44
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Yup, seconding good OP. I've gotten a few attempts at this game started but never managed to really get off the ground. Eventually I'll make it work. Not been able to convince anyone to try co-op play so it's all solo for me.
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May 12, 2022 16:16
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Yeah one of the challenges with this game is finding a like-minded group of players who don't mind sharing the spotlight and not having everything based in a superstructure of complex rules and exceptions to those rules. I'd wager that the sweet spot for group play is 3-5. My group has 6 which works fine but I'm lucky to have a bunch of peeps who are just as content to watch things play out as actively steer the ship. Also apropos of nothing in particular I recently went to see The Northman in theatres and I couldn't stop thinking about how much the film is basically Ironsworn: the Motion Picture. Main character suffers a tragedy and makes a sacred vow to exact revenge, compromising himself and causing suffering at every step until he's confronted with a final choice between fulfilling the vow or finding inner peace. Just really great stuff that could easily have come from a well-run solo or small group game of Ironsworn.
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May 12, 2022 16:32
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I'm a little surprised that Ironsworn works for people in groups over 2. But that's rad that it does. I've only had one good solo attempt at Ironsworn myself with a lot of false starts. And that wasn't so much a fault with the system so much as it was just me not really getting into the story I was writing. Likewise the co-op game I started with a friend (easing him into solo gaming) went pretty well, but didn't last too long as it became clear he needs a game with more structure. 5 Parsecs has been fantastic for that, but he's been asking a lot about Starforged, which I haven't yet gotten a chance to read all the way through and I'm not really sure is going to have any changes that will keep him better hooked, but I'm glad he's excited nonetheless.
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May 12, 2022 20:55
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I had a decent Starforged game going but it stalled out due to a combination of poor/no background vow/motivation, my current vow wrapping up too cleanly, and losing a chapter of my kinda weak attempt to start a new segment via small tiny skip due to a computer issue. Which highlights the biggest issue I’ve had which is a me thing as far as I can tell. I struggle to come up with good background vows for my character concepts. My excitement for Sundered Isles actually has me thinking up a concept for it, and I think I’ve got a pretty good one. Except this has left me stuck in the awkward position of either waiting who knows how long for Shawn to put out the first play test draft (hopefully not too long) or just forge ahead using base Starforged and some of my own house-rules musings on how to convert Starforged to an Age-of-Sail/pirates concept. It’s amusing how many of the assets can work with only minor phrasing changes. The biggest hurdle is oracles and how to handle a ship’s crew, given starforged only used personal ships not larger crewed vessels. Galaga Galaxian fucked around with this message at 21:07 on May 12, 2022 |
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May 12, 2022 21:00
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Our group decided that we would play members of an extended family whose village was raided and their fellow villagers forced into slavery. So we're chasing that as our big epic Vow, doing side quests where we can, to build up enough bonds with other places to eventually try and find our people and reestablish our home. We've thrown in some fun side plots with these weird relics we keep running into, and roving cultists that may or may not be a result of the corrupting influence of the relics. Just a really rich background to keep drawing from and filling in. The world feels real in a way most other ttrpgs don't manage.
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May 12, 2022 21:34
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Yeah Ironsworn and Starforged both do a great job of implying a lot of cool setting stuff while still having a lot of knows for you to adjust to get the feel you want. The whole “Truths” thing where you establish broad setting details is great. And I look forward to seeing what Sundered Isles will have, though I’m also enjoying adapting the previous truths to the basic concept and coming up with my own setting details too lol. I really don’t know if I can’t wait before trying my own thing. I want swashbuckling now.
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May 12, 2022 21:56
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FLIPADELPHIA posted:Our group decided that we would play members of an extended family whose village was raided and their fellow villagers forced into slavery. So we're chasing that as our big epic Vow, doing side quests where we can, to build up enough bonds with other places to eventually try and find our people and reestablish our home. That sounds super fun!
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May 12, 2022 22:28
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Yeah, I've been the group GM for a few years and while I enjoy it somewhat, I get burned out pretty easy. Playing this has been a godsend because as first I was a bit of a rules adjudicator, but slowly was even able to back off from that. Having no GM has really worked wonders for getting some of the more quiet players in the group engaged.
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May 12, 2022 23:05
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I've been looking for someone to teach me this game - I learn way better by playing than by reading, although I haven't tried the youtube series yet. Any takers or recommendations?
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May 13, 2022 00:01
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I learned by watching Me Myself and Die on YouTube. His second (I think) season was Ironsworn and it was a very entertaining watch. I'm not a guy who watches a lot of actual plays and I liked it.
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May 13, 2022 03:38
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^^^ Beatensasha_d3ath posted:I've been looking for someone to teach me this game - I learn way better by playing than by reading, although I haven't tried the youtube series yet. Any takers or recommendations? I think a good playthrough is the podcast Me Myself and Die. I think it's a YouTube series too? I had a feeling there was a visual element I was missing. Anyway, he goes through it pretty well. Unrelated, for a non-creative such as myself, writer's block is the biggest barrier for me. I get stuck even with oracles.
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May 13, 2022 04:02
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sasha_d3ath posted:I've been looking for someone to teach me this game - I learn way better by playing than by reading, although I haven't tried the youtube series yet. Any takers or recommendations? For Starforge (it works for Ironsworn as well), i can recommend The Bad Spot. Good editing, no facecam, nice voice.
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May 13, 2022 13:44
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Zapf Dingbat posted:Unrelated, for a non-creative such as myself, writer's block is the biggest barrier for me. I get stuck even with oracles. I also am really bad with Oracles. They're too open ended for me a lot of the time. Especially anything that feels like it boils down to a 50/50 yes/no. What I've found helps me is to make my own tables for things. It's a bit more effort, but it helps me with world building and it makes it so that I'm more likely to be invested and interested in whatever the outcomes are. Also a thing that I've found that can help is to just write down my own list of names, items and places. Again, it helps me with world building and also gets my mind in a place where I'm thinking about the things that could exist. And when I need a name I just pick from there what I like best that fits whatever it is that needs naming. I'm not making a table here or rolling, just picking. And if I do decide I want a table, I pick just a few of the ones I like best / fits the thing I am making a table for. For these, again, I try to make them specific. So I'm not just picking, as an example, a name for a region, I'm picking a name for a jungle region-- or a volcanic one. I let the broad lists just be lists, the tables are specific, and that helps my brain organize the thoughts and concepts into things I can work with. Also I try not to do too much preparation at once. If I've felt all of my time is just making lists or tables I tend to get frustrated. Lists are great for me when I have a few minutes to spare for daydreaming because it keeps me engaged thinking about the game/world and interested in the next session.
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May 13, 2022 14:25
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Found a good Starforged actual play by a blogger I enjoy. Thought I'd pass it along. https://mementodiscite.blogspot.com/2022/01/corporateaffairsmiddlemanagement.1..html
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May 13, 2022 21:19
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Are there any more definitive set of rules to play Ironsworn with the Starforged rule set or do you just have to wing it? I would suppose the Ironsworn assets would need the most work.
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May 13, 2022 23:59
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My piece of advice: You don't have to select a resource/momentum penalty every time you fail. Pick something that is relevant to the fiction. It can be as simple as "that didn't work, try a different approach with a different stat".
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May 14, 2022 05:23
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https://twitter.com/ShawnTomkin/status/1525994050020466688?s=20&t=z-SHr4whxBzKYuU2jfZAnA I hope we get to look at this stuff soon.
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May 16, 2022 02:59
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Galaga Galaxian posted:https://twitter.com/ShawnTomkin/status/1525994050020466688?s=20&t=z-SHr4whxBzKYuU2jfZAnA new assets? i thought starforged was out?
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May 16, 2022 05:27
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redleader posted:new assets? i thought starforged was out? They're meant for Sundered Isles, which was a stretch-goal for the kickstarter, however they'll almost certainly work for Starforged as well to represent a larger ship with NPC crew. Might need some tweaking, but probably not much.
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May 16, 2022 05:37
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quote:Starforged backers: you now have a folder in your backer share for Sundered Isles preview materials. You'll see new bits and bobs dropped in there over the next few weeks, starting small with a trio of crew-centric assets. The first tease is three assets, Path: Crew Commander (which is about a ship's crew as a resource), Deed: Cohort (connection(s) that travel with you, though still not a proper companion), and Deed: Fleet Commander which should be relatively self explanatory. The first two look quite excellent to me, the third also seems good but its something I'm less interested in.
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May 17, 2022 21:35
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Galaga Galaxian posted:The first tease is three assets, Path: Crew Commander (which is about a ship's crew as a resource), Deed: Cohort (connection(s) that travel with you, though still not a proper companion), and Deed: Fleet Commander which should be relatively self explanatory. The first two look quite excellent to me, the third also seems good but its something I'm less interested in. Huh. Where did you see this? I'm a backer and didn't get any message.
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May 17, 2022 21:48
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SkyeAuroline posted:Huh. Where did you see this? I'm a backer and didn't get any message. Its from the discord.
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May 17, 2022 21:55
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One of my group members bought Starforged on his own and wants to do a separate summer campaign (several of my group are teachers) in that setting, with the SF rules. I'm so stoked- I'm usually the one who pressures my group into trying new systems, so having a player do this unprompted is pretty rad. Any general tips for SF campaigns? I think we'll be going for the Firefly-esque style of setting, with a ragtag crew flying from planet to planet meeting people, getting in adventures etc.
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May 23, 2022 22:57
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FLIPADELPHIA posted:One of my group members bought Starforged on his own and wants to do a separate summer campaign (several of my group are teachers) in that setting, with the SF rules. I'm so stoked- I'm usually the one who pressures my group into trying new systems, so having a player do this unprompted is pretty rad. What kind of tips are you looking for specifically? Starforged already assumes a Sci-Fi setting, so there's not really anything you need to do differently to what's already provided. Wait, I'm an idiot. You mean SF as Starforged and not SF as Science Fiction. You're already familiar with Ironsworn so picking up Starforged is going to be pretty easy. I'd probably do a short session with just yourself (or with this friend) to just go over the basics. Run a small scene and figure out how the new Quest/Exploration/Bond and Legacy completion tracks all work with each other and it shouldn't take too long to grok how the flow has changed. The thing that stood out to me when I started was when going to the combat rules felt appropriate and when progress there should actually affect any progress elsewhere, because unless I'm mistaken combat doesn't actually progress any tracks unless you make the decision yourself to have it affect your progress tracks. Like for me which moves / type of encounter a chase sequence is that involves bounty hunters chasing the PC who is attempting to get to and then escape on their spaceship was a good way for me to figure these sorts of things out.
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May 23, 2022 23:28
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Yeah combat could be a milestone, but only if it makes sense to your vow. Rolled a miss with a match on a Set a Course and took a bad turn into the wrong spaceport alley and had to defend yourself from some thugs? Probably not really a milestone if your vow is to deliver medical supplies to Tau Ceti Alpha V. It could be a milestone if your vow is to track down a stolen object you know is at this settlement and you make a follow up Compel to interrogate the bruised thugs for what locals deals in precursor and pre-exodus artifacts and they produce useful info.
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May 24, 2022 02:55
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Great info, thank you both.
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May 24, 2022 03:00
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Galaga Galaxian posted:Yeah combat could be a milestone, but only if it makes sense to your vow. Exactly. it's a milestone if completing it is basically in service to what you're doing-- like, it's actually progressing things narratively. That was basically the conclusion I came to and like sometimes, like in my example-- a chase scene-- doesn't have to be codified as a combat if it's unnecessary to the narrative flow. Like anything, practice and repetition helps you to understand and make more informed choices the longer you play.
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May 24, 2022 04:37
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Its funny, I was really eager to take the handful of preview materials for Sundered Isle that Shawn has shown already (pretty much the three command orient assets and a brief summary of what the truths options will probably look like) and just jump in a wing a game. I even had a pretty strong idea for a background vow and inciting incident. However I suddenly find myself intimidated by the idea of having to deal with a whole ship of people, even if most are kept as nameless/faceless background set dressing. Ironsworn and Starforged didn't have this problem with default assumptions since you were (if playing solo) usually a loner or had one, perhaps two, regular asset granted companions plus occasional contacts. The summary of the truths were also posted as a subthread in the #Sundered Isles channel of the Ironsworn discord, if anyone is interested in checking it out. One noteable difference is that Sundered Ilses will actually not, by default, assume that the occupants of the setting are the survivors of some calamity, instead the Sundered Isles are just a far-flung frontier archipelago being explored, settled, and exploited by a mixture of Avaricious Imperial Powers ("The empires and their colonial/capitalist bullshit are explicitly a negative force within the isles, and the truths help define the state of their influence and control. "Are we the baddies?” the people of the Empire ask. The answer is yes." - Shawn) and hardy independents and adventurers/pirates. There will still be a cataclysm/calamity truth involved, but it instead is focused on what caused the "Sundred Isles" to earn that name (an ancient disaster literally tearing apart a continent, a more metaphorical sundering caused by a great war between imperial powers, a very sundering of reality itself in the region, etc). BTW the latest Starforged KS update included a WIP draft of the cover for Sundered Isles. I can't wait to see what other pieces Shawn's artist, Joshua Meehan produces for it, he did amazing work for starforged. 
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May 31, 2022 09:16
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Do any of you use play aids to help keep the moves/oracles straight? My wife and I started a coop game and the biggest problem I had was remembering which oracles were available to help. I realize they aren't necessary but it's nice to use what's been given. One thing that I gotta try to remember is I don't need to put a whole lot of pressure on ourselves to think of something fast. I'm used to GMing games in a big group and I sometimes find myself sticking with the same old tropes when it comes to improvising something on the fly, mostly just to keep the game moving smoothly. But with Ironsworn even just the Action/Theme oracles can provoke some interesting ideas I never would have gravitated to originally if I just give myself a bit of time to think
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May 31, 2022 23:54
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I purchased a copy of Lodestar from Drivethru RPG which is a very nice reference guide with all the oracles and tables together in one place. There's also a PDF available. Lodestar helps keep all oracles, tables and options in one place and easy to get at for quick reference. It helps me remember everything better.
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Jun 1, 2022 01:24
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DarkAvenger211 posted:Do any of you use play aids to help keep the moves/oracles straight? My wife and I started a coop game and the biggest problem I had was remembering which oracles were available to help. I realize they aren't necessary but it's nice to use what's been given. For Starforged I use the playkit to keep track of the moves, it's like 4 pages (front and back) and makes it really easy for me to focus on keeping track of the mechanical parts of the system. As for Oracles, I just keep the book open to around the pages that I use often. What I do for solo games in general though is have a document that's just the tables that I usually come up with or build either during play or something I can jot down ideas in the middle of the day. For me it's kind of part and parcel of the worldbuilding portion of playing these sorts of games.
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Jun 1, 2022 06:14
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https://twitter.com/ShawnTomkin/status/1532039380654649347
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Jun 2, 2022 00:51
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Started a game of Starforged today with 3 friends and 1) holy hell is this system designed for 4 or fewer players in mind. My main group has been running with six, and it works fine, but with four everything flows so much better 2) you can really tell that star forged is the next iteration of iron sworn. The campaign kickoff mechanics make that first session so much fun and easy to get going After establishing truths and rolling characters, we only had about 90 minutes to play and we managed to get through four really awesome scenes in that short amount of time. I'm really excited to see how this campaign plays out, I may even do a write-up of it which is something I had never considered doing for iron sworn.
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Jun 3, 2022 22:30
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I've always kind of glossed over Ironsworn, entirely because the photograph cover looks so cheap. Guess I need to fix that mistake, this game sounds rad.
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Jun 4, 2022 10:28
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