Ironsworn Setup

I've started a new game of Ironsworn after learning about the Iron Journal app (which I wholeheartedly recommend, by the way), and I wanted to document my adventures as I become more familiar with the system. I come from a D&D background, so it's taken some adjustments to my expectations, but so far the learning curve has been worth it. These changes are especially prevalent during combat scenes, where I'm used to a significant amount of crunch. Viewing combat as a narrative scene rather than a turn-based game has taken some getting used to, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

As I record my gameplay, I will include [rolls in square brackets], (oracle prompts/ideas in regular brackets), mechanical explanations and rules in italics, and everything else will be recorded as a series of chapters in a story. This may be a little dense at times, as my writing style is a bit wordy, but I hope to develop my writing skills along with my solo rpg skills.

MATERIALS

To start, I am using the Iron Journal app to record locations, assets, NPCs, vows, progress tracks, and other gameplay mechanics. I will also reference Ironsworn Lodestar and Ironsworn Delve for their oracles and move descriptions. I also have access to the Ironsworn downloads. To record everything as I play, I will be using this journal from Amazon, as I like to switch out the interior notebooks as I fill them up or switch between games. I am using this dice set, because I feel like it suits both the fantasy vibe of Ironsworn and the outer space vibe of Starforged, and I switch between the two often.

SETTING UP THE GAME

I started with creating my world and selecting my truths. This is an exercise in worldbuilding that really effectively immerses you in the world of Ironsworn. I will keep some of the details to myself for now, to avoid a full lore dump, but I will do my best to introduce it organically in the story. 

For my character, I am using the Challenging stat array from the Ironsworn: Lodestar reference accessory. This bumps all of my stats up by one, and I am using this option because I am playing with one character, and failure is extremely common in Ironsworn, even with the higher stats, so I'm buffing myself slightly. I tend to be very punishing to my characters narratively though, so it should balance out. I chose to give my character an Iron score of 4, making her very tough, muscular, and hearty. I gave both her Heart and Shadow scores a value of 3, making her sneaky, cunning, and scheming, along with being sociable, caring, and brave. Finally, I gave her Edge and Wits scores a value of 2. She may not be the brightest or the fastest, but she has street smarts, people skills, and a big-ass sword that she's not afraid to use.

For her assets, I thought it would be interesting if she was a veteran. It seemed like something that fit her stats, and would contribute to an interesting story. I also made her a Wayfinder, because a wandering soldier is a fun vibe. Lastly, I made this character a Fortune Hunter, making her a mercenary sort. So all together, I have somebody motivated by money and wanderlust with combat expertise. 

I decided to name my character Irsia, inspired by the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor constellations. This made me think of a backstop prompt: what if Irsia had a warrior mother? A momma bear who would fight anything to protect her daughter? I kept this in mind as I rolled on the character goal table for Irsia's background vow. In Ironsworn, vows are the driving mechanic of the game. Your character's vows are sacred, and they must complete them or suffer dire consequences for forsaking their duty. The background vow is harder than most, and it will occupy your character for a long while. So it should be something with lasting storytelling potential. Taking that all into consideration, for Irsia's goal I rolled that she wants to find a person. Well, who would be better to find than this mother character? So I set the rank of the background vow to extreme, and recorded it. 

I will find my mother, the famous warrior Sigvor, in the Ironlands after she disappeared 5 years ago on a hunt.

Happy with my background vow, I decided to next come up with my background bonds. Bonds are a measure of your character's connection to individual NPCs or whole communities. When you swear Iron Vows to your bonds, there is a bonus to your roll, which incentivises you to help those your character cares for. I rolled up a town for Irsia to be from, and what I got was Ravenbarrow. Ravenbarrow is a small village in the Veiled Mountains, a region in the northern Ironlands. It is beautiful, but it is ravaged bu natural disasters. I decided that earthquakes and avalanches are the most likely culprits for these disasters, and that they are currently recovering from one such incident. My character Irsia was raised by her mother in Ravenbarrow, and Sigvor's heroic deeds left the town grateful to the family. Irsia used to be a soldier for Ravenbarrow as well, hence the Veteran asset, so there is a gratitude within the town to Irsia herself and not just her mother.

Next, I like to randomly roll up a few characters from or in the starting town to have a bond with. First, I rolled the name Halla, who is an artisan wanting an object. The name Halla made me think of the elves in the Dragon Age series, so I decided that Halla wants an artifact of the Firstborn (the Ironsworn name for elves, giants, and all those who were in the Ironlands before humans). I also associate the elves in Dragon Age with fine armours and craftsmanship, so I decided that Halla was a leatherworker. I also thought it would be fun if they were close friends, with the potential for something more. Halla is somewhat outcast from the community, and I decided that she lives in a hut in the wilds past the outskirts of Ravenbarrow.

Next, I rolled a thief named Styrkar. For his goal, I rolled that he wants to make an agreement. I thought that was a little vague, so I also rolled on the Oracle for an Action and Theme, and I got Uncover Supply as my prompt. I decided that this made him a Robin Hood type of character, who wants to find and share the supplies of the wealthy with the poor and needy of Ravenbarrow. I thought that he mostly does petty thievery to support himself and his family, giving what extra he can to others. This makes him very popular with the common folk, but the upper class likely hates him.

With my bonds out of the way, it was time to come up with an inciting incident, which I will detail next time!