Hey everyone!
Hey everyone! I want to start by thanking the creators behind this awesome game. I'm new to tabletop gaming and I've been jumping from system to system looking for something that clicks for me, and I finally found it with Ironsworn! The separation of mechanics and narrative and how they interact, especially when playing as a solo gamer like myself, is brilliant! I have a fictional world that I brainstormed for days, coming up with locations, lore, factions, races, etc, and ironsworn works perfectly because of how flexible it is. Speaking of which, I'm looking for suggestions on something. My current character is a dragoness in a high-magic world. Dragons, vampires, elves, gods, and otherwise magical entities are the norm. I've been having trouble changing the assets to fit this, for example, the dragons in this world are incapable of wielding weapons, instead relying on elemental breath or talons and fangs, how should I create assets to reflect this? The ritual system also doesn't fit this style of play, any suggestions on how to alter it?
I can definitely see your problem, your chosen setting is pretty darn different than the one in the book! Hacking Ironsworn starting on page 238 of the rulebook gives some general guidance on how to craft custom assets or reskin the ones in the book. For you though, the advice on Using Roles instead of Assets (p 239) might be the way to go. You lose out on the neat mechanical benefits of specific assets but gain the ability to completely divorce the game from its default setting.
ReplyDeleteA role is just a sentence that describes something about your character that is fairly focused (if you find yourself adding your role to every roll you make, you've probably got a role that's too broad).
If you need assistance in writing good roles, this article might help:
fate-srd.com - Making A Good Aspect
It's not for Ironsworn, rather for a game called Fate that uses a very similar mechanic called Aspects, but the information is 100% compatible with the roles mechanic in Ironsworn.
That said, if it were me I'd try a couple sessions in the default setting using the base rules just to get a feel for how play flows, once you've got a good grasp on that then you'll know what you need to change to make the game work for you.
Best of luck!
One way of pushing the magic level up, if you want more blasty spells is to make spells "subassets" which get unlocked by getting a magician asset.
ReplyDeleteIn general, they will be more potent than a usual strike, but will cost you something, even on a weak hit (usually -spirit). They are left fairly open, so you decide if you cast a fireball or a ball of force. Not quite sure how utility spells would fit in here, but it works nicely for blasty spells.
It would look something like this (I have made no effort to balance this, it has just been slowly brewing away at the back of my mind for a while):
Path: Magician
You have access to arcane powers.
O Choose two spells
O Choose two more spells
O When casting spells, take +1 momentum on a strong hit, in addition to whatever other effects it has.
Subasset: Blast
When making a ranged strike, you can attack using a blast of arcane power. Envision how it appears (fire, pure force, cold, &c). It has the following effects:
Strong hit: inflict harm on three opponents who are close together.
Weak hit: inflict harm on a single opponent. Take -spirit. Take and additional -spirit to inflict harm as on a strong hit instead.
Miss: your arcane energies fail you in some way. Pay the Price.
Subasset: Bolt
When making a ranged strike, you attack using a focused bolt of arcane power. Envision how it appears (fire, pure force, cold, &c). It has the following effects:
Strong hit: inflict your harm plus an additional progress marker on a single target.
Weak hit: inflict your harm on a single target. Take -spirit.
Miss: your arcane powers fail you. Pay the Price.
Subasset: Hold
When you attempt to secure an advantage by holding beings or things in place, roll +wits. Envision how you are holding them: mental compulsion, spider webs, summoned nets, &c.
On a Strong Hit: the target is held in place and unable to move until you lose the initiative.
On a weak hit: the target is held in place and unable to move until a challenge die is higher than your action die was. Take -spirit.
On a miss, your arcane powers fail. Pay the Price.
Martin Bentley I like that you can only use your blast magic to Strike, not clash. That's a clever way to self balance it. Most mages would get 2, maybe 3 shots out per battle
ReplyDeleteJustin Gordon I think I'll try the role system, that sounds like a winner. Thanks!
ReplyDeletewaytodawn96 Hope it works well for you, we'll be looking forward to seeing the results!
ReplyDeleteI would like to add something extra to the management of magic. You could take into account a little detail that D&D 5e develops (an which I think is interesting) and it's the type of component of the spell: Verbal, Somatic, or Material.
ReplyDeleteIf it's a verbal spell (i.e. something spoken, like a curse or an incantation), the spell would consume spirit
If it's somatic (i.e. something that requires you to gesticulate or move your hands and arms in a certain fashion), the spell would consume momentum (a -1 momentum, or more, depending on the spell)
If it's material (i.e. something that requires specific components to execute). the spell would consume supplies (like a bone, or an herb) or health (if it requires blood to function)
Thredith Undomiel that's actually part of the lore I'm developing, but I didn't know how to represent it mechanically, thanks!
ReplyDeleteJustin Gordon pure accident, but I will take it. ;)
ReplyDeleteAs I say, that is a very rough first draft for some "flexible with limits" quick casting. It would need a few more spells to round out the options, but it looks promising, I think.
Martin Bentley You could use the spell list from Barebones Fantasy:
ReplyDeletedwdstudios.com - dwdstudios.com/files/bbones/Spell%20Reference%20Sheet.pdf
It has something like 9 or 10 spells in the whole system which are designed to cover an entire fantasy spell list.
Justin Gordon I have a question about fulfilling vows, what if your how becomes impossible to complete before you make 10 progress? For example, if your how is to find your family but you find out that they've all been murdered, are you still able to fulfill your vow? What move do I make?
ReplyDeleteHi, waytodawn96 ... in that case, I would Forsake My Vow. It's now out of your reach.
ReplyDeleteNote the trigger text for the move: "you renounce your quest, betray your promise, or the goal is lost to you".
Since your goal of finding your family is now lost to you, it seems like an appropriate move to make. It sure as heck is going to trigger a new vow, though.
I imagine you can argue semantics and say "well, I found by family but they're all dead." It's your choice, really. Were it me, forsaking my vow and swearing a new one is the most dramatic response in the fiction.
waytodawn96 solo role-gaming has received limited attention in the past: very few products are as solo-friendly as Ironsworn. I initially played in a totally different setting, but then I reverted to the Ironlands: learning how to play requires some effort (I am still learning after a few moths) and adding that to the difficulties of tweaking the setting was too much for me. I am looking forward to "Worlds" both for a wider range of settings and for actual examples of new settings: that will certainly make things easier.
ReplyDeleteMy humble suggestion based on several years of solo games: start playing in your setting right away, don't do too much world-creation in advance, and discover your world together with you characters as you play. Follow the design principles of Shawn's Ironlands: leave plenty of blank space and open questions to be filled by exploration. Also, consider using a blank map that you will detail during play.
Keep us updated and have a look at what others do: I find reading stuff here both instructive and inspiring!