#ironsworn: starforged | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theresattrpgforthat · 1 year

Text

THEME: Ironsworn/Starforged Hacks

This week’s recommendations are all inspired by Ironsworn, by Shawn Tomkin, or Starforged, its science-fantasy successor.

Inspired by PbtA games, Ironsworn stands out because it can be played solo, GM-less, or as a traditional roleplaying game - and the PDF of the rulebook, a work of stellar quality, is free. It uses unique mechanics such as Vows, Momentum, and Supply to support play - Vows being personal goals that drive the character’s story and generate progression, Momentum being an asset that can be used to track your character’s general level level of success, and Supply being a representation of how prepared or energetic your characters are.

While Ironsworn is a game of fantasy adventuring, Starforged takes cues from space fiction and science fantasy, and comes with unique character pieces and a planet generator.

Let’s take a look at some of the hacks created out of these games!

Iron Valley, by M. Kirin.

Iron Valley is a cozy solo ttrpg hack for Ironsworn and Starforged.

In this game you take the role of someone moving into a small community and starting their life anew. Maybe you’ll restore your family’s farm. Maybe you’ll explore the mysterious forest just beyond town. Maybe you’ll fall in love and get married! This is a game about living a cozy life with good company, one day at a time.

As a farming simulation, this is a great example of a cozy game. Follow the course of a year, making a new home for yourself using a simplified version of Ironsworn. Fundamentally, the game revolves around the promises you make to your friends, losing track of time instead of hit points.

This is a chunky game that takes some set-up, that a single can play over many days or weeks. It’s something that requires a bit of work to put together, but you can pick it up a little bit at a time if you’re looking for sustained play, and you don’t have to work with a group to try and schedule game time.

Stonebound, by S0ra.

The Dawnlands are filled with various groups of palaeolithic humans, all trying their best to survive in this prehistoric world, where they are far from the top of the food chain.

You are not like them.

You will venture forth from your home, rise up and challenge the monstrous creatures who roam this land, discover secrets better left forgotten, protect your people from the feral horrors that rise in the night, bind your will and your word to the sacred stone of this land and become Stonebound.

This isn’t much of a departure from the original Ironsworn: the author describes it as a re-skin, with new assets and foes to make the system fit in a stone-and-sorcery kind of setting. The game is still in development, so changes might continue being added, but the game is Pay What You Want for now! In Stonebound, stone replaces iron as the way by which you make vows, and as a result stone becomes a vital part of the landscape. If you really like the way Ironsworn plays but are interested to see how it looks in a new setting, you might want to check this game out.

Cybersworn, by Homebrewster, and Hyper City, by Thomas Manuel.

You’ll need to know how Ironsworn or Starforged works in order to play these hacks. Cybersworn is meant to fit a number of different flavours of cyberpunk; from high-magic settings, to low-magic settings, to settings with cyborgs or a virtual other space. It provides new pieces to slot into the basic ruleset to make the game neon and gritty. And just like Ironsworn, this game is free!

Hyper City is a specific corporate dystopia that you build based on a real city that you’re interested in. It uses Burning Questions rather than Iron Vows, it provides a mode of play that focuses on investigation and exploration, rather than action and adventure. Hyper City is also designed to be played “solo together,” as described by the designer. Each player is playing their own solo journey, but their characters can interact with each-other via messaging apps or something similar to trade information and give each-other updates.

These games aren’t designed to necessarily be played together, but since they’re built for the same system, it’s likely easy to steal a little from one to place into the other. If you’re into cyberpunk and building your own city, these might be worth checking out!

Silversworn, by fyret.

This is a hack about being a werewolf (possibly in space). It is a hack about rage and trying your best to hide it. It is a hack about finding what lengths you'll go to keep the beast inside, and what carnage you'll bring when it is unleashed.

This game specifically alters the rules of Ironsworn to allow you to play as a werewolf character. One of the basic moves, Face Desolation, is replaced by Face Rampage, which is meant to replicate your struggle to keep your human form. Apart from mechanical changes, this hack comes with some tips about playing as a werewolf, especially when you’ve transformed. The game also comes with a new series of Truths and Assets, to help you build the world you want, whether you want to tell a story within the fantasy world of Ironsworn, or the galaxy of Starforged.

If you want to see more genre hacks of these games, I’d recommend checking out the Starforged 2023 Jam on Itch.io.

#ironsworn #starforged #indie ttrpgs #game recommendations #dnd #tabletop games

112 notes · View notes

foundry-fabrications · 1 year

Text

System Spotlight: Ironsworn

Hello everyone, and welcome to my first ever System Spotlight! Before we begin, let me explain a little about what this is and what to expect.

This is a series I've wanted to do for a while where I talk about RPGs other than D&D, their mechanics, and my overall thoughts on them. There are thousands of wonderful RPGs out there and I want to shine a spotlight on some of the ones I feel could use more love or just give my two cents on ones that are already popular.

This won't be a regular weekly series or anything like that, but I do want to write these so there's less of a gap between content posts. I also want to use them as a sort of primer/101 for future projects made for those systems. I'm known for 5th edition and it's likely the system you fine folk are most familiar with so I want to give you the basics of whatever system I'm working with so the associated project makes some sense. And hey, if even one of you takes in interest in a game I talk about then that's a win in my book.

I would also like to preface that I have not actually played every game I will be talking about in this series, though I have read about them and gone through whatever core rules they have at the very least. I will state whether or not I have played in each post for transparency and so you can judge my opinions accordingly.

Anyway, that's enough preamble, let's Undertake a Journey and talk about Ironsworn!

Are you the Forever GM and never get to play? Are you in-between games or groups and want something to scratch that RPG itch? Perhaps you want to try GMing your own game but don't want the pressure of other players. You're not alone! Turns out there is a huge community for the solo play of RPGs and I am fascinated by it. People have been finding ways to play RPGs by themselves for years and there are lots of tools to let people do just that (I'll get to those at some point), but recently there has been a certain game that has become very popular that is built for just such a method of play.

Created by the wonderful Shawn Tomkin, Ironsworn is game built from the ground up to be solo or co-op and entirely GMless, though you can play traditionally if you wish. It's based on the Powered by the Apocalypse system and is more narrative than mechanics focused unlike a lot of other RPGs, especially games like D&D. Basically, the mechanics are designed to be in service of the story. Speaking of mechanics, let's talk about ‘em!

Dice

Starting with dice, Ironsworn uses a d6 and two d10s for everything. The d6 is your Action Die and acts like a d20 in other systems. The two d10s are your Challenge Dice, which set the difficulty of whatever it is you're trying to roll for.

When you roll to do something, you roll the d6 and d10s together adding your relevant stat and any bonuses you have to the d6. If your action die is over both challenge dice, you get a Strong Hit. If it's only over one of the challenge dice, it's a Weak Hit. But if it's under both of the challenge dice then it's a Miss. Now, if both of the challenge dice are the same, you either have a Strong Hit or Miss with a Match. Matches are like crits in other games, making your Strong Hit or Miss way better or way worse for you.

Moves

So how do you actually do stuff? Like most PbtA games, you make Moves, each with their own mechanics that tell you how to resolve them. For example, let's look at a common move: Gather Information.

For this example, we roll our dice and get a 3 on the Action Die and a 4 and an 8 on the Challenge Dice. We'll say our character has a 2 for Wits and no other bonuses, bringing our Action Die total to 5. This would be a Weak Hit, revealing some troubling information and giving us +1 Momentum (we'll get to momentum in a bit). Pretty simple, right? Whatever you want to do, there's a move for it.

Momentum

Now, about momentum. Momentum is a really cool mechanic that gives you some much needed control over your dice when you really need it. Most moves give you momentum when you succeed, up to a max of 10. When you roll, you can burn your momentum to cancel out any challenge die that is less than your momentum, letting you turn a Miss into a Weak Hit or a Weak Hit into a Strong Hit. Your momentum then gets reset back down to 2 so you always have a little.

Characters

Ok, let's talk character creation! Characters in Ironsworn have 5 stats: Edge, Heart, Iron, Shadow, and Wits. Edge is your quickness and is for ranged combat; Heart is your courage and charisma; Iron is your strength, constitution, and is for melee combat; Shadow is your sneakiness and cunning; Wits is your intelligence and wisdom. You set your stats with a stat array, putting one number for each stat: 3, 2, 2, 1, 1. They even have alternate arrays with higher and lower numbers to make the game easier or harder, which is cool. Your stats will never change during a game so be sure to choose wisely.

Health, Spirit, and Supply

Characters have 3 meters to represent their status: Health, Spirit, and Supply. They each start at 5 and can be increased or decreased by failing moves or taking damage. Health and Spirit are pretty self explanatory, representing your overall physical health and stress levels. Supply is a little different. You don't have equipment, money, or resources in Ironsworn so Supply is used as an abstract representation of how prepared you are during your adventures.

Assets

Now it's time to pick your assets. Assets represent your skills and traits, giving you bonuses to certain things and letting you make new moves. There are 4 asset types: Companions, Paths, Combat Talents, and Rituals. Companions are pretty self explanatory. Paths are your background, skills, and training. Combat Talents let you do special moves with whatever weapon you wield. Finally, Rituals are how you perform big magic in the world of Ironsworn. You get any 3 assets of your choice when you create your character and you can get more through character progression. Assets can also be upgraded, unlocking new abilities and benefits.

Iron Vows

So how does character progression work? In Ironsworn, you earn experience by completing quests, or Vows as they're called. When you take on a quest, you literally swear on iron that you will do whatever it is you set out to do, hence the name of the game. But should you forsake your vow, there are consequences. You always start a game with a background vow, which is basically your personal quest and what drives your character, and an immediate vow to get the story going.

Once you complete a vow, you get experience based on how dangerous it was. Experience can be spent on upgrading your assets or buying entirely new ones.

Combat in Ironsworn

So how does combat work in Ironsworn? Well, a bit like everything else, using moves and with a greater focus on the narrative instead of the nitty gritty details. To be honest, I still have trouble wrapping my head around combat coming from a background of the crunchy, tactical style combat of D&D.

Basically, when you enter combat you Enter the Fray and roll to see who is in control of the situation. Whether or not you are in control determines what moves you can make. Rolling well means you gain or maintain control and you can mark progress towards ending the encounter and claiming victory, whatever that looks like for you. I know my explanation is probably woefully inept at best, so I encourage you to check out Matt Risby’s explanation and example. He does a much better job than I ever could.

The Oracles

Now that you have your version of the Ironlands, you need people, places, and things to populate it with. For that, we turn the the Oracle tables. The oracles are d100 tables filed with words and descriptors to help you flesh out your world and spark inspiration when you're not sure what to do next. There is even a dedicated move called Ask the Oracle, which many other moves reference to help you out if you're not sure what their results might mean for your character.

But what if you need to generate something? For example, say we just entered a new settlement and we want see what it's like and what might be going on there. For that, we turn to the Settlement Oracle tables. We roll a 45 so our settlement is named after a creature. Then we roll and 97, giving us the name Dragonshadow. Now let's see what's going on in Dragonshadow. We roll a 65, giving us “families in conflict”. Squabbling nobles perhaps? But I think you get the idea. There's 19 oracles in Ironsworn and you're even encouraged to make your own.

The Ironlands

Now that the basics are out of the way, where are we? Welcome to the Ironlands! The Ironlands are a low fantasy, low magic, viking-esque setting that honestly reminds me a lot of Westeros from Game of Thrones. It's a harsh, unforgiving land that has made it's people tough and hearty, people who have already dealt with great hardship after a cataclysm drove them from their homeland, or The Old World.

But the best part is that the Ironlands are yours to create. Alongside character creation you create your own version of the Ironlands based on a series of prompts. The basics remain the same as above but the details are up to you. You determine what drove the Ironlanders from their home, how society works, are there monsters or magic, what horror lurk in the dark, and so much more. And if you don't like one of the prompts, change it! Make up whatever you want, it's your world!

Hacks (or Homebrew)

But what if you aren't a fan of the Ironlands period? Perhaps you want something a little more fantastical or even high tech? Then hack it! There's an entire section in the game that encourages you to rework the game to suit whatever needs you have. Don't like the setting? Make up a new one! Want new equipment or backgrounds? Rename the existing assets or make new ones! Don't want to do the work yourself? There are dozens of hacks and hundreds of custom assets created by the community, most of which are free! Whatever flavor you want Ironsworn to be, it can be with a little tweaking.

Ironsworn: Starforged

Now I can't talk about Ironsworn without talking about it's sister game, Starforged. Starforged is a new version of the game with updated and expanded rules in a new sci-fi setting known as the Forge. All the basics are still there with only minor changes so if you've played one you can jump right into the other without much issue. Everything I've said before goes for Starforged as well so if fantasy isn't your bag maybe give it a go instead!

My Thoughts

I'll just come right out and say it, I fucking love Ironsworn. But sadly I've yet to actually sit down and start a game to experience it for myself, which is honestly a crime. It's completely changed my perspective of what an RPG can be and has really opened my eyes to the incredibly wide world of solo play, which I will be delving into further. I have nothing but nice things to say about the game, its creator Shawn, and its incredible community.

To get into specifics, the biggest thing I love is the simplicity of Ironsworn as a system and how easy it is to expand on it. The fact that you're actively encouraged to customize it is amazing too. The layout of the book is clean, simple, and explains things very well. It even includes examples of play. I love momentum as a mechanic, I think it's a brilliant way help keep the story moving and I would love to try and come up with something like it for other systems. And while low fantasy isn't my bag, I can appreciate it for what it is and I can always customize it to suit my tastes.

But the best part about Ironsworn is its completely free! You can download everything you need to play on the website at https://www.ironswornrpg.com/. Starforged on the other hand is paid, which you can get a pdf of on DriveThruRPG for 20 bucks, which is more than reasonable in my opinion. But should you get a physical copy, you get a pdf for free!

If you're not sold on the game just yet, or just want to see it in action, I highly encourage you to check out Me, Myself, and Die Season 2 (season 1 not required), The Bad Spot podcast, and Errant Adventures podcast. MM&D S2 is just Ironsworn while both The Bad Spot and Errant Adventures do both Ironsworn and Starforged. All of them are fantastic live play shows that are well worth your time in my humble opinion.

If you're still with me, thanks for listening to me ramble about a game I love for a bit. I know it's different than my usual content but different is good and I've wanted to do this for a long time so I appreciate you sticking around while I experiment. Let me know what y'all think, about this as a thing I do now, if you're familiar with Ironsworn, and what other games you'd like me to look at. I have one hell of a list already but I bet y'all have some gems I don't know about and it will help me gauge interest. Anyway, that's all for now. As always, stay safe, don't forget to love each other, and I'll see you again soon.

#ironsworn #starforged #powered by the apocalypse #pbta #shawn tomkin #me myself and die #the bad spot #errant adventures #system spotlight

85 notes · View notes

adamssketchbooks · 5 months

Text

Hunting the bounty hunter that broke their contract.

Digital Sketches

#art #drawing #sketch #illustration #starforged #ironsworn starforged #character #character art #character design #original character #scifiart #scifi #digital illustration #digital drawing #digital painting

5 notes · View notes

maxkirin · 1 year

Text

Iron Valley is a cozy tabletop RPG inspired by Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing. And you can play it solo, no game-master required! 💕

The current version is pay-what-you-want with no minimum, so try it for free 🌻TODAY🌷 https://ko-fi.com/s/aa643f7015

#kofi challenge #my books #iron valley #ironsworn #starforged #ironsworn: starforged #ttrpg #solo ttrpg #solo rpg #rpg #tabletop role playing game #tabletop rpg #tabletop games #cozy #farming games #farming simulator #farming ttrpg #farming rpg #farming sim

71 notes · View notes

dwimmersworn · 1 year

Text

If you missed the Kickstarter, physical copies of Ironsworn: Starforged are now available via Modiphius. The rulebook in particular is gorgeous, sturdy, and laid out really well for both reading rules and admiring Joshua Meehan's great artwork. Digital copies are also available, and Ironsworn is free.

No affiliation or anything, just a fan who is very happy playing both games.

#ttrpg #starforged #ironsworn #ironsworn: starforged #modiphius

1 note · View note

rushed-oats · 21 days

Text

been going through the sundered isles book, got a lot of ideas already, will MAYBE post stuff from it

#ironsworn #starforged #sundered isles

2 notes · View notes

chiefmcclane · 2 years

Text

"prep is play" I cry to myself designing the 27th alien beast for a Starforged bestiary despite only playing one session for my xenobiologist character

#ironsworn #starforged #solo RPG #Ironsworn Starforged

29 notes · View notes

jokermoreau · 11 months

Photo

Ironsworn: Starforged OC. → Halia Ripley

Pilot of the starship. She often acts before she thinks, and has a penchant for getting into troublesome situations. Her intentions are always good, but her methods are hit or miss. She travels with Juno, her companion glowcat; Severnius Mihara, the lore-hunting healer; and Tripp Adler, the scoundrel diplomat.

Orphaned at a young age in the Forge, Halia learned to fly ships in her teenage years under the tutelage of Vesper Nazari, a well-known bounty hunter. She traveled as a part of his crew for over a decade, finally earning status as his co-pilot and second-in-command.

However, her desire to make a name for herself often lead to her butting heads with Nazari. Ultimately, she betrayed him and stole his ship in order to go on a rogue mission in hopes of tracking down an ancient artifact from before the cataclysm. The mission was ultimately a failure. With the ship in disrepair, she was only able to make it back to Lumen Reach Sector 1 before crashlanding on Theseus.

Alone and with her dignity in tatters, she made her way to Silvana, the largest settlement on the temperate planet. Known for it’s entertainment district and arms smuggling rings, she knew that she’d need to find a gig and fast, if she wanted to get off-planet before Nazari could track the ship’s signature.

She accepted a position in a smuggling ring which provided her with the ability to pilot ships once again. It was on one of those smuggling missions off-planet that she met Severnius. The two of them became fast friends, and she left her station in the ring in order to help him on his quest for a cure.

More recently, they met and welcomed Tripp Adler into their small, rag-tag crew. They are currently on Jotunn, near Meridian, assisting their associate Zybil with tracking down stolen supplies and a relic of some importance. This has brought them head to head with the splinter group The Bleak.

campaigning with @cardboardhyperfix (Severnius) & @tannerdoesnothing (Tripp).

PSD by @nuclearstorms

#molly plays starforged #c: halia ripley #starforged oc #i love it when she...#i know we are on hiatus but honestly i cant stop thinking abt her and them #IT WAS SO FUN !!! I cant wait for us to get back into it sometime #i gave her this as a fun backstory yay :)#some *spice*#ironsworn oc

1 note · View note

branmac9 · 1 year

Text

Just another day in New Hope for Krux Phebo. Running and playing hide and seek with the other children. Lots of crates among the Geodomes and hydroponic tents to hide in. He pulls his supplementary oxygen mask down a bit breathing in the fresh smell of pine and plants.He sees his father Hara smile and wave in his brightly multicolored sweater. Life is good for these hard working communal settlers. In ten years or so the air should be fully breathable with all the work the folks of New Hopes small but dedicated folks have put in.

Then suddenly fire rains down from the sky. Everything is burning. The smell of burnt flesh permeates the air. The intense pain of the plasma burning him alive is to much to bare, Krux passes out.

Suddenly he awakes in a start. His left arm has been replaced by a robotic arm. His right leg below the knee has been replaced with robotic parts. Not only that half his head is covered in a chrome plate, one eye is seeing in a red that focuses like a gun scope. His nose is gone replaced by an iron plate, most likely to help him look less disfigured. Panic and vertigo hit like a sledge hammer all at once. Then Thoth the sage a trader that would visit New Hope on occasion looks down on him with a warm smile. He speaks “ you know your going to have to pay me back for all this work I’ve done to you” the he laughs blowing out the vapor from what ever stim he’s smoking.

Damn! another night terror. Krux wakes up covered in wetness. Looks like he’s shorted out his right leg again with his own body sweat. Over Twenty years and the night terrors still happen. Thoth died in a salvage mission gone wrong a few months back. Depression and loneliness are setting in as well. His only company for the last month has been TR-5 his all to serious combat bot. A melon sized mechanical ball that follows him everywhere floating over his left shoulder. One of Thoths creations. Time to get up and fly the ship Thoth left him (the Three of Diamonds) to the location of a derelict space craft so he can get that plasma servo for Yusuf Toshi on Lameria Station. He doesn’t want to run out of those various stims and drugs that keep his all to weak body going (the none mechanical parts). And hopefully have enough credits left over for food, fuel, and maybe a lady for the night. Been awhile since he’s seen another person let alone touched one. And maybe possibly he can pick up a lead on the pirate chief that destroyed his life all so long ago. No name he just remembers that space suit cover in furs and reptile skins with the four horned space helm. A giant brute of a man if that’s what he was at all. The vow of revenge is what drives him on day after day hopping for a break someday he will get his vengeance! My

#starforged #ironsworn

3 notes · View notes