Wow so that was some serious tension from my last Ironsworn play session!
Wow so that was some serious tension from my last Ironsworn play session!
I have to mention it again that I've never that level of anxiety playing a game in before! Lol...
So I had a question re: what options I had-
Paraphrased*
So my character Kormak had sworn a vow to track down a creature that abducted a child from the village of Highmount.. Happened to be the leaders (Pemba) daughter.
The excursion proved somewhat uneventful save a wolf who took interest in my companion dog Eiriene. But two strong rolls and a decent "end the fight" made short work of him.
Eiriene got slightly nicked so we made camp and had a restful evening.
Cut to the chase...
Pemba shows up to assist even though not qualified.
I "Strongly" reach my destination which was a web laden cave and thought "securing an advantage" was the way to go.
I believe that's where it began to all go down hill..lol
I believe at this point every roll I made was a miss which painted a tragic picture..
Eiriene was gone.. Pemba was dead.. I was stuck to the floor with +1 health remaining... Crazy! Merrow Spider...
After the wolf, I went into that cave cocky.. I had No idea I was going to be whacked like this!
My question is once the merrow spider had her initiative there's little I can do until fate gives me a better roll?
I know I had "turn the tide" but being so weak I didn't want to pay the price for a miss.
Unbelievable to me in the moment last night I was resigned that one more "pay the price" would mean my death.
I squeaked a few weak hits which allow me to attempt to "End the fight"
If I failed in anyway I was calling this adventure a disaster.
Amazingly I roll strong!
Narrative wise since my character is Devotant I had divine intervention come thru with a mystical blaze of white light. Spider legs and entrails everywhere..
Having fun plotting this story out.. Not sure if I find the child alive, where is Eiriene and am I still at +1 health?
Still have to limp back to the village to be accurate.
Good stuff!
Edit- thinking back on it I had 10 momentum going in the cave but elected to reroll early on which left me at + 2.
I think if I learned anything it was to hold on to that momentum for a critical moment.
I have to mention it again that I've never that level of anxiety playing a game in before! Lol...
So I had a question re: what options I had-
Paraphrased*
So my character Kormak had sworn a vow to track down a creature that abducted a child from the village of Highmount.. Happened to be the leaders (Pemba) daughter.
The excursion proved somewhat uneventful save a wolf who took interest in my companion dog Eiriene. But two strong rolls and a decent "end the fight" made short work of him.
Eiriene got slightly nicked so we made camp and had a restful evening.
Cut to the chase...
Pemba shows up to assist even though not qualified.
I "Strongly" reach my destination which was a web laden cave and thought "securing an advantage" was the way to go.
I believe that's where it began to all go down hill..lol
I believe at this point every roll I made was a miss which painted a tragic picture..
Eiriene was gone.. Pemba was dead.. I was stuck to the floor with +1 health remaining... Crazy! Merrow Spider...
After the wolf, I went into that cave cocky.. I had No idea I was going to be whacked like this!
My question is once the merrow spider had her initiative there's little I can do until fate gives me a better roll?
I know I had "turn the tide" but being so weak I didn't want to pay the price for a miss.
Unbelievable to me in the moment last night I was resigned that one more "pay the price" would mean my death.
I squeaked a few weak hits which allow me to attempt to "End the fight"
If I failed in anyway I was calling this adventure a disaster.
Amazingly I roll strong!
Narrative wise since my character is Devotant I had divine intervention come thru with a mystical blaze of white light. Spider legs and entrails everywhere..
Having fun plotting this story out.. Not sure if I find the child alive, where is Eiriene and am I still at +1 health?
Still have to limp back to the village to be accurate.
Good stuff!
Edit- thinking back on it I had 10 momentum going in the cave but elected to reroll early on which left me at + 2.
I think if I learned anything it was to hold on to that momentum for a critical moment.
Thanks for the recap, walter burrell! That sounds awesome and terrible in equal measure.
ReplyDeleteWhen you don't have initiative in a fight, it'll often come down to a decision between Clash and Face Danger to react to attacks (assuming you intend to stick out the fight, and don't want to flee).
Remember that your suffer moves can get you back initiative on a strong hit. Sometimes it's worth taking a hit to spirit or health for the chance to get back into the fight. If I've got +4 or +5 spirit, I'll sometimes think: "I'm going to take a hit to spirit next time I Pay the Price", because I know I've got a decent chance of rolling a strong hit when I make the Test Your Spirit move. As long as it fits the fiction, it's fine (and intended) to do some gamey resource management.
The Ironclad asset can be pretty powerful for that too. A +2 on Endure Harm is a big deal, letting you take withering blows and come back fighting.
Sometimes, though, you just get a string of bad rolls. In your case, it sounds like it worked out for your story to create some pretty tense drama.
Yes I had whittled away almost everything and only had one Health remaining still..lol
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I wasn't doing often enough was testing my spirit in fact I'm going to retroactively roll next chance I get.
Looking at facing danger vs clash..
I never considered using face Danger. It looks mechanically only to give you plus one momentum and doesn't look advantageous over Clash. But perhaps it's the thematic wording?
For example if I did want to flee the cave assuming I wasn't stuck to the ground LOL. I could try face danger and if successful with it meant that I was able to escape?
Why would you choose Face Danger over Clash in a fight?
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the price of a weak hit with Face Danger is pretty mild. Unlike Clash, it's not Pay the Price. You'll take a -1 to an appropriate track (health, spirit, supply, or momentum). With clash, you Pay the Price and you're probably suffering harm equal to the rank of your foe. For a troublesome foe, not a big deal. For a formidable one? It can make a pretty big difference. Note that, statistically, most rolls will end up as weak hits.
It also gives you control over what stat to use appropriate to your action, allowing you more potential to get a +3 stat in the mix. Clash forces you to use iron (or edge for ranged fights).
And, yes, Face Danger would be the move to make if you're just trying to get the heck out of there.
Lastly, you'll likely Face Danger when your foe is not attacking but trying to gain some sort of situational advantage. It's sort of the reverse of your Secure an Advantage move.
You'll find a bit of detail on this under the Clash move summary text (page 81) and on pages 86-87.
Also if I may add a question?
ReplyDeleteI might as well do it here so not to bog down the Forum.
Looking ahead if/when I encounter more formidable foes obviously the harm goes up significantly.
However the character health is capped at + 5..
I understand with experience, assets can be strengthened, but it would appear that a character would be in Jeopardy quite quickly with the more challenging foes ahead.
Sorry if it's an obvious answer.
Shawn Tomkin ty Shawn!
ReplyDeleteI get out of the cave.. Decide to hunt so camping might be more comfortable..
ReplyDeleteTWO 10's and I roll a One!?
Seriously?? Lol..
I don't even know what to put Kormak thru at this point.
Edit: went for the Oracle to give me Direction.
I get a dark secret is revealed and a true identity is revealed. obviously I'm thinking about the girl.
But since it was such a lopsided roll matching tens versus my modified 3 I got to figure out how to make this hurt.