Ironsworn is a tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) designed for a solo player or small group. This post describes the game in general, why/how I came to start playing it and my play evolution since initially encountering the game.
[This post is based on Ironsworn , created by Shawn Tomkin, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license ]
What is it, exactly?
Assuming you aren’t familiar with this type of gaming, I would start by saying that it is like Dungeons and Dragons. You throw various types of dice and your player character has adventures in an imaginary setting.
Versus many other games, it is somewhat lighter on rules and requires less extensive tracking of stats and relies more on imagination. The core set of character actions is very flexible and allows for a wide variety of situations, based on a clear dice challenge to guide the outcomes.
Because the game is often played solo or co-operatively without a dedicated Game Master, a robust set of oracles is also included with the game. These lists provide plot guidance when imagination fails or questions arise.
But, this isn’t a “how to play Ironsworn” post, so if you want to learn more, click on the link and download the free game materials for yourself!
Why am I playing it?
As a natural outcropping from my lifelong interest in fantasy and sci-fi fiction, I have been curious about tabletop gaming, but I never had friends who played or the confidence to start a table of my own. It seemed vaguely interesting but largely undefined and out of reach. And if I’m being honest, the late 80s/early 90s when D&D was in its heyday were also years when I was trying really hard to be less of socially awkward and fit in within a very small town in the rural midwest. So it was interesting, but I never sought it out very actively.
A few years ago our family took a vacation to the Tampa area and a dear college friend was kind enough to walk those of us who were curious through D&D 5e character creation and some initial moves in the Icespire quest. It was great fun and very helpful in making my vague interest more concrete. We subsequently purchased the materials ourselves, but playing with just my husband and I…well it wasn’t very dynamic. It seemed that unless I joined an online group, TTRPGs weren’t meant to be part of my life.
Fast forward to November 2022 and I was researching low-tech hobbies for our upcoming RV lifestyle, and Apothecaria came up as a recommended solo TTRPG for beginners. From there, I fell down the rabbit hole for a couple weeks, not having previously realized that some of these games were specifically designed for solo play. I saw Ironsworn recommended again & again. Given that the materials for the core game were free, there wasn’t much to lose.
If that is how I came to be interested and eventually find Ironsworn, the reason I’m playing it is much shorter: It is so much FUN!
Why do is it fun (for me)?
- There is enough mechanical structure that I have guardrails for “how to play” that are engaging and clear, but not so many rules that things are bogged down and hard to remember
- The rules leave an incredible amount of room for imagination
- The books and other materials provide ample, strong documentation
- The creator is generous with his time and with the licensing of his materials, which helps me feel good about where the game came from.
- Additionally, in the “feel good” department, the game materials are explicitly inclusive of all races, lineage, sexual orientations and genders
- There’s a wildly creative and incredibly helpful community that has built a largesse of tools and inventive expansions as well as welcoming and active Discord server.
- You need very little in order to get started, particularly given that the core materials have been made available for free
Analog Playkit
Kit 1.0
I sewed a cloth cover to fit over/around an A5 travelers notebook. The cover houses all the things I need, including game references, journal space & some art supplies.
Kit 2.0
I learned a lot making the first one and truth be told, I ended up modifying it a bit and making another entire version somewhere in the middle there, but at the end of the day those felt sewn notebook covers weren’t robust enough and wide/thick enough to let me put as many game materials inside as I would like. So I went with a leather A5 notebook from Amazon, as pictured below. It is in landscape orientation, which is kind of a fun twist.
Play Evolution
I hope to be playing for a long time and various things I hope to explore are:
- Learning the Starforged game, which is published by the same creator but move the whole thing out of a gritty dark fantasy setting into space.
- Playing with the new supplement for Sundered Isles, which takes Starforged into the Age of Sail
- Various additions, settings and homebrews on top of either Ironsworn or Starforged:
- Playing Cybersworn (or other cyberpunk addition) with Starforged
- Playing a mashup of a Ironsworn: Badlands (or other wild west hack) with Starforged to create a Firefly setting
- And, ambitiously, trying to create a supplement for herbalism & alchemy (maybe even magic)
…and probably many more!