Hey all, I had a question about the experience others have had with the relative power of the stats.
Hey all, I had a question about the experience others have had with the relative power of the stats.
I started a solo campaign and envisioned my character background as being a hunter from the hinterlands. So I took Wits as my top skill, followed by Shadow and Edge so they could step silently and be deadly with a bow.
My first issues cropped up as I realized that Edge dosen't quite measure up to Iron, which can be used on every combat move you can use Edge for plus several other rather important moves as well. But I managed to solve that issue after I realized that fighting from a distance shouldn't have the same consequences as fighting in close. From then on I greatly reduced how often I Paid the Price though Suffer Harm when missing on a +Edge move, and taking less harm meant that my Iron-starved character's reduced ability to suffer harm well or heal themselves mattered less, and using Edge felt a lot better.
However, now I've run into a bigger problem: Heart. It's an essential skill for most of the tentpole mechanics of the game: Swearing Vows, Forging and Testing Bonds, Sojourn (while there are other ways to gain supply, only Sojourn explicitly cures debilities), Suffer Stress, and Face Death or Desolation. Having Shadow seems comparatively much less useful, as by default Shadow is only used on moves where other abilities can also get the job done. Frequent misses on Heart rolls have ended up with my character friendless and alone, cast out of community after community, with little hope of there being a happy epilogue down the road.
So I'm wondering if there's a narrative angle that allows for a low Heart to be played around like the one I found with Edge, or something I'm missing about Shadow that would make me feel better about having it instead. I'm also open to the possibility that Heart is just at the core of being a proper Ironsworn, and I inadvertently played on "hard mode" by neglecting it. Either way I'm having a blast, I just didn't expect this playthrough to be quite so dark.
I started a solo campaign and envisioned my character background as being a hunter from the hinterlands. So I took Wits as my top skill, followed by Shadow and Edge so they could step silently and be deadly with a bow.
My first issues cropped up as I realized that Edge dosen't quite measure up to Iron, which can be used on every combat move you can use Edge for plus several other rather important moves as well. But I managed to solve that issue after I realized that fighting from a distance shouldn't have the same consequences as fighting in close. From then on I greatly reduced how often I Paid the Price though Suffer Harm when missing on a +Edge move, and taking less harm meant that my Iron-starved character's reduced ability to suffer harm well or heal themselves mattered less, and using Edge felt a lot better.
However, now I've run into a bigger problem: Heart. It's an essential skill for most of the tentpole mechanics of the game: Swearing Vows, Forging and Testing Bonds, Sojourn (while there are other ways to gain supply, only Sojourn explicitly cures debilities), Suffer Stress, and Face Death or Desolation. Having Shadow seems comparatively much less useful, as by default Shadow is only used on moves where other abilities can also get the job done. Frequent misses on Heart rolls have ended up with my character friendless and alone, cast out of community after community, with little hope of there being a happy epilogue down the road.
So I'm wondering if there's a narrative angle that allows for a low Heart to be played around like the one I found with Edge, or something I'm missing about Shadow that would make me feel better about having it instead. I'm also open to the possibility that Heart is just at the core of being a proper Ironsworn, and I inadvertently played on "hard mode" by neglecting it. Either way I'm having a blast, I just didn't expect this playthrough to be quite so dark.
I'm having similar issues compounded by the dice really, really wanting me dead, so I'm curious what answers you get here. I have Outcast and Ranger assets in an attempt to blunt the worst of it.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I think you've got the right idea with iron/edge. You'll notice there are no rules forcing you out of ranged combat, giving you the flexibility to leverage your strengths as the situation dictates. Even in melee, remember that you can Face Danger via Edge (or even wits or shadow) to avoid attacks. Also, have a look at the long-arm or skirmisher asset for a high-edge character.
ReplyDeleteSome good news is that a high wits character is much more capable "in the field". If you combine your +3 wits with an appropriate or asset or two, you can be super-effective as long as you can avoid pinging those debilities.
That said, if you're heart +1, you will definitely face some challenges. For Sojourn, I would suggest leaning on bonds as much as you can in order to give yourself a boost when you Sojourn, Swear an Iron Vow, etc. This reflects a character who is a bit of a loner, but who relies on their kin in times of need. Early in your character's Ironsworn career, work outwards (geographically and narratively) from existing bonds and form new bonds via quests.
The other thing to keep in mind is that a miss on Sojourn doesn't necessarily mean you were turned away. For some reason, this community can't help you, but it might be because they've got some problem that leads to narrative complications and perhaps an opportunity to take a quest and forge a bond. Think about some of those misses as narrative opportunities instead of failures.
Assets can be helpful, and certain assets are explicitly designed as a "relief valve" for low heart characters. Also, the Kindred companion was designed partly as a way for solo players to buff out a weak stat. If you give them the skald expertise, for example, take +1 when you interact with communities. Plus, traveling with an NPC can lead to interesting character moments that you won't necessarily get alone.
Finally, I'll just say that it's your game. I recommend futzing with the stat array as an easy way to tune your experience, especially for solo players. Just replacing the stat array with +3,+2,+2,+2,+1 (only one "weak" stat) can make a difference and help to represent a particular archetype.
Ironsworn is meant to be challenging, and meant to feel a bit dire when things go wrong, but you don't want the frustration to overwhelm your fun.
Apologies for the rambling thoughts. I hope some of it was helpful.
Oh, and regarding Sojourn, don't forget momentum! You're a hunter, so I imagine you will secure an advantage with some hunting and roll into the village with a nice bounty of hides and meat for trade. Putting yourself in a position to burn momentum on your Sojourn roll can make a big differnce. Leverage the mechanical and narrative strengths of your character concept
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you have + 3 wit or shadow, you could use this to Secure an Advantage before you Sojourn or Swear Vow. Not sure how you'd justify this story-wise, but it might let you roll the following Heart action with an additionnal + 1. Being an unappealing coward, you might need to lie or deceive (Shadow) , threaten (Iron) or use a decisive arguments (Wit) to convince people to let you Soujourn.
ReplyDeleteMy impression so far is that shadow is unimportant unless you're going to focus on it (e.g. trickster + raven + etc.). If you aren't going to make it a major part of the character, don't bother. Edge is the same, since it's pretty much just used for ranged attacks or defense (and you can easily substitute other stats when using Face Danger).
ReplyDeleteAlso, momentum is a huge deal. If you figure out which moves you'll be making frequently and take an asset that grants momentum on a hit, that will give you a significant advantage. If you have party members the Aid Your Ally action is excellent for spreading more momentum around. And remember to Secure Advantage whenever you can, since it gives you good results even on a weak success, and you can often justify using your high stat to roll it (especially if it's heart or wits).
Thanks a lot guys, that's helped a lot.
ReplyDelete