The Just the Fiction series I did for Ironsworn solo play have become some of the more popular posts on Fictive Fun, so I figured it would be in the interest of the readers to talk a bit more in depth about this wonderful game.
Ironsworn Overview
Ironsworn is a tabletop roleplaying game designed by Shawn Tomkin and was released on Drive-Thru RPG on April 5th 2018.
Mechanics
The dice mechanics resemble other Powered by the Apocalypse games in which the resolution rolls result in either a strong hit, weak hit, or miss. Each roll results in options for the players or GM to continue moving the narrative forward. However, instead of rolling the standard PbtA 2d6, you roll 2d10’s as challenge dice as well as a d6 action die. Modifiers are added to the action die depending on your character’s stats and assets, and if the action die is higher than the value on one of your d10’s, you are successful.
Ironsworn characters do not have hit points. Instead, the well-being of the character is represented by four tracks; Health, Spirit, Supply, and Momentum. The health track represents damage or physical discomfort that may befall the character. The spirit track represents the stress levels or mental state of the character has they deal with the emotional toll of surviving in a harsh world. Gear is abstracted within the game with the supply track, which is a measure of the necessary supplies one needs to survive. Momentum tracks how well or how bad things are going for the character. It is similar to a Luck stat in some games that may be spent to improve the results of a roll.
Setting
The game takes place in the Ironlands, a rugged frontier in which people scratch and claw for survival every day. At some point in the past, a large influx of settlers arrived in the Ironlands as they were forced to flee from their original homes across the sea. Settlements are isolated and are rarely more than villages or hamlets. The Ironlands is not a place where you will find great walled cities or castles.
The characters are called Ironsworn. They are the brave few. Those willing to venture beyond the meager safety of settlements into the dangerous wilds of the Ironlands. The ironsworn are willing to step up and face the challenges that would cause any normal Ironlander to huddle in fear.
The tone of the game is very grim and gritty, but that does not mean the game is not fantasy. Mysticism and rituals play a large part in the setting as well. There are always whispers of foul things that lurk in the dark places of the world.
Does the setting seem a little vague? It is supposed to! Ironsworn contains a wonderful section on world-building that allows the GM or group to answer a set of prompts to flesh out the world they want to play. You can absolutely set your Ironsworn game into a high-fantasy world crackling with magic if it so pleases the players.
Characters
After fleshing out the aspects of your world, the next step in play is to create characters. Ironsworn doesn’t have character classes. The characters are instead defined by assets, which are cards you choose during character creation. Assets give you advantages during play and also give you some narrative direction when performing moves.
The flavors of assets are companions, paths, combat talents, and rituals. Companion assets can be things like a horse for travel, a faithful hound or a deadly wyvern. Paths represent skills your character may have learned through life experiences. Combat Talents demonstrate your character’s prowess with various weapons or armor. Rituals are mystical spells or rites a character may perform to gain advantages in the narrative. Each asset may be advanced by spending experience points (XP) to make that asset stronger while new assets may also be purchased by spending XP.
Swearing the Iron Vow
How does one earn XP in Ironsworn? Unlike many popular systems out there, experience points in Ironsworn are earned only through completing quests rather than killing monsters. Quests are the central driving mechanic of the game. Characters must Swear an Iron Vow to begin a quest. In the Ironlands, swearing upon iron is more than a simple promise, it is a ceremony, it is bound to your honor. Characters that fail to uphold an iron vow are disgraced and must work to redeem themselves.
The Many Ways of Play
One of the greatest qualities of Ironsworn is that it can be played in a varied amount of ways. Like most traditional games, Ironsworn can be played with a game master (GM) and a group of players. It also plays well as a co-op game in which two players take control of separate characters and bounce GM duties between them. The third way to play Ironsworn is solo play, also referred to as solitaire play in some circles.
Solo Play
Ironsworn has gained a lot of popularity in solo gaming groups as of late. Why? Because Ironsworn was designed from the beginning with solo play in mind. Most games are designed for groups and solo role players must bring in other tools or hack the system to make those games viable for solo play. Ironsworn gives you all the tools to play the game solo without the need for outside resources or frameworks. It does this with such a finesse in that it is contained within the same ruleset. Referencing a rule in solo play is no different than referencing that same rule in group play. If you are new to solo role-playing, I highly recommend using Ironsworn as your first system.
If You Like the Following Things, You May Enjoy Ironsworn
- Games featuring Powered by the Apocalypse mechanics
- Narrative-First Games
- Solo Role-Playing
- Vikings
- Magic that is Mystical or Spiritual rather than Arcane in nature
- Games with zero prep and fast to the table
- Grim and Gritty Settings
- Narrative or Theater of the Mind Combat rather than Tactical, Round-Based Combat
- Open-Ended Character Creation
Free
Did I mention that this game is free? Oh yes, the pdf version is free. Rarely can you find a game design and layout of the quality of Ironsworn for free. That being said, I highly encourage you to support Shawn Tomkin by purchasing the book in print.
Resources
Chartopia Tables – A quick and easy way to consult the Ironsworn Oracles.
Here are a couple of maps I made of the Ironlands with Wonderdraft. Feel free to download and use them for your next game of Ironsworn.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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