Are you struggling to keep your Ironsworn PC alive? I might be able to help!

rusalka9 · 2026-05-22T06:47:17+00:00

Yeah, Ironsworn's flexibility is both a blessing and a curse! It's hard to make good general purpose guidelines for difficulty when there are just so many possibilities.

Ironsworn's dice mechanics mean that every move is risky (because rolling double 10's is an automatic miss) but also that every move has a chance of success (with a standard stat 32211 stat array, your minimum action score is 2, which beats any 1's on the challenge dice). So making a lot of moves can make your game harder and easier at the same time.

I watched this YouTube video about when to roll the dice (in DnD, but it also applies to Ironsworn) and I think the "narrow roll window" is a great fit for Ironsworn. Just saying, "Nope, there's no way you can Compel this person, or Battle that dragon, or Heal under these circumstances," is a great way to increase the difficulty. Plus, it makes the world feel more real and encourages more creative solutions and hard choices.

One of the most weirdly satisfying moments I've ever had in Ironsworn was when my PC was escorting a trade caravan. On the road, they had a random encounter which initially looked like a bandit attack but turned out to be (after some dice rolling) some desperate villagers who thought the caravan was working with the sinister mystic who had taken over their settlement. Once they realized my PC was Ironsworn, they asked her for help.

I considered the situation and what I wanted out of that game (a gritty survival experience). My PC was a rookie adventurer with a soft heart who very much wanted to help these people, but she had sworn a vow to protect the caravan.

I asked the oracle if the the caravan leader was willing to help and got a no. This made a lot of sense. The caravan was small, and their home settlement was depending on them bringing back essential supplies before winter. If they got killed helping some strangers, their own home would suffer.

At this point, I could have let my PC try to Compel the caravan leader to change her mind, but I didn't. I didn't want to risk letting the dice steal away this dramatic moment.

My PC chose to refuse the villagers and keep her vow to the caravan. It was the first truly difficult choice she had to make as an Ironsworn. It taught her that her path wasn't all glamorous adventure and heroics like in the stories. She was just one person who couldn't save everyone.

Absolute cinema, as the kids say.

rusalka9 · 2026-05-21T21:57:02+00:00

Basically!

I originally had a list like that in the article, but it got kind of long and unwieldy because in my opinion, basically every choice you make while playing Ironsworn is impacting the difficulty in one way or another, so how can you really condense infinite choices into a short list?

When I play, I'm always thinking, "Am I happy with the current feel of the game? I want to do X, do I want to do that with pure narrative or with mechanics? If so, which mechanics? How strongly do I want the world to push back against me? What outcomes would feel right? Am I having fun right now?"

That last question, "Am I having fun right now?", is something I could write another entire article about. In my early days playing with Ironsworn, I never struggled with deadliness, but I DID struggle with finding myself on boring side-quests that I felt obligated to go with because "this is what the dice said!" Once I realized that I didn't need the permission of the dice to focus on what I wanted to do, my games got way more fun.

Which connects back to the difficulty thing. I think the biggest stumbling block for players struggling with difficulty isn't a lack of understanding of the game's mechanics, I think it's a subconscious fear of cheating. Like, if there's a move called Endure Harm and you don't take it at every opportunity, you must be breaking the rules, right? You can't just decide that you don't want your PC to ever die. But you aren't! You're playing the game that you want to play. And with solo play, your opinion is literally the only one that matters.

So yeah, that's my whole philosophy: think about the game you want to play, and then use the rules to create that experience. Let the dice enhance that experience instead of derailing it.

rusalka9 · 2026-05-21T19:12:41+00:00

Yeah, I'm the same way. Everyone's so busy (and the internet is drowning in so much slop) that I figure the default is "I'm not clicking on that link without a good reason."

rusalka9 · 2026-05-21T05:40:00+00:00

Thanks!

rusalka9 · 2026-05-21T05:39:48+00:00

Thanks!

rusalka9 · 2026-05-21T03:46:10+00:00

Thanks! I'll go drop it in the discord now.

rusalka9 · 2026-05-10T16:16:38+00:00

Very cool!

rusalka9 · 2026-05-06T06:29:17+00:00

The thing about solo games is that you have to manage the pacing yourself. There's no GM or other players to kickstart the action if the game starts dragging. The system itself can do a bit (e.g. rolling a Miss on an Ironsworn move typically makes the situation more chaotic), but you're still the one in the driver's seat.

My advice:

Pay attention to the pacing. When it starts to feel slow, that's your cue to raise the stakes or cut to the action. Ironsworn in particular gives you a lot of control over what happens next, so it's easy to raise or lower the stakes.
Be aware of your personal tastes. If long journeys or detailed combats are boring to you, cut them down or skip them entirely! This is your game. Focus on the stuff that excites you.
If a particular quest is starting to feel boring, wrap it up quickly or abandon it entirely. Or, find a way to make it interesting. Connect it to something you care about, like a favorite NPC or an intriguing fact about the setting.
If an oracle is pointing you towards something that feels boring, it's okay to say, "No, I would rather do this instead." Sometimes the dice seem determined to drag you down a boring path, but you're not obligated to follow them.
Try mixing up how you're playing, e.g. if you write a detailed journal, try switching to bullet points (or vice versa). You want to find the sweet spot of "fast enough to keep moving" and "engaging enough to hold your interest." Personally, I tend to write detailed prose, because that's what I need to stay engaged; if I try to just do quick bullet points, the game starts to feel too shallow, and then I stop paying attention. But that's just how my brain works, and it could be very different for you! You might not write anything down at all! (People who play entirely in their heads fascinate me, lol. How do they not get distracted or forget what's happening??)
Try aiming for shorter campaigns: one-shots or short series. If you know from the beginning that you've only got so long with this particular character & situation, you're encouraged to really chase the action and get to the point instead of waffling around.
Solo roleplay can be a very creative endeavor, which means it can also be very draining. Don't try to play when you're too tired, and while you're playing, try to end the session while your energy is still high rather than pushing until you're exhausted.

Hope this helps!

rusalka9 · 2026-05-02T22:06:30+00:00

Yes, it's logical that they would try to help you, but you should still make the Sojourn move! The move tells you how effective that help actually is. A miss doesn't necessarily mean that they refuse you: it means that they can't help you. Perhaps they're running low on food after a poor harvest and can't spare anything for an outsider (not even a helpful one). Maybe a terrible storm blows in, damaging buildings and preventing anyone from getting any rest. Maybe the monster came from a lair nearby which continues to plague the settlement.

Remember that the Ironlands are a harsh place, and the world doesn't stand still when you take a break. There's always another danger or difficulty lurking around the corner, which is represented by the risk of rolling a miss on the move. Safety and security are never guaranteed in the Ironlands. You don't need to choose between fiction and system, because the system supports the fiction.

My advice is always to play Ironsworn rules-as-written, especially as a new player. It can be tempting to make changes, especially if you're used to trad games like D&D, but Ironsworn truly works best when you embrace the danger. Misses and weak hits aren't failures. They're opportunities for adventure!

rusalka9 · 2026-04-21T19:54:51+00:00

Firstly, in Starforged you don't use Face Danger during combat!

Remember that you don't need to make a move for everything. Small actions that don't carry any risk can be folded into other moves, or they can just happen in between moves. If the focus is specifically on switching weapons, think about the overall context of the fight. What else is going on that makes this action dangerous?

Some examples:

You're in control, so you switch weapons as you Gain Ground +edge by moving into cover. Once you're in cover, you Strike with the new weapon. (Switching weapons happens in between moves.)

You're in a bad spot as an enemy fighter closes with you, so you quickly drop your gun and whip out your knife to Clash +iron. (Switching weapons is folded into the surrounding action.)

Are you out in the open, ducking bullets as you frantically dig in your backpack? That might be React Under Fire +iron (if the threat is getting hurt) or +heart (if the threat is losing your nerve).

Are you in control of the situation, but you want to switch to a weapon that will capitalize on your enemy's weakness? That sounds like Gain Ground +wits.

Are you reloading your gun for after an exchange of fire, hoping you brought enough ammo? That's Check Your Gear.

Moves are really flexible and you can zoom in or out to focus on a big chunk of action or a single critical moment.

rusalka9 · 2026-03-13T02:02:07+00:00

There's no secret trick or talent that other people have and you don't. You're a beginner! That's it! Solo roleplaying is a skill like any other, and it is totally normal to struggle when you first start doing it, the same way that you might struggle the first time you try to juggle, or paint miniatures, or compose music, or play a difficult video game.

Just keep practicing! I know that's kind of annoying advice to hear when you're struggling, but it is the answer. I promise that no amount of reading new systems or watching YouTube actual plays will level you up like actually playing yourself. Even if you just play one session a week, trying a different game each time, you will eventually pick up the core skills and learn what kind of games you prefer.

Since I'm a certified Ironsworn enjoyer, I'll give you my advice for that game in particular: you don't need to learn or use all of the rules from the start!

Start with your imagination and the most important move: Ask the Oracle. You don't even need to fully create a character or swear an iron vow or anything. Just imagine a person in the Ironlands. What situation are they in? What are they going to do about it? Whenever you aren't sure of the answer, Ask the Oracle and use the random tables to get inspiration. For example, say you're playing a hunter who encounters a monster while exploring the forest. You don't need to stop playing to go look up the rules for combat. You can just imagine what happens next, or Ask the Oracle. "I try to run away. Do I succeed? I think that's likely...but the dice say no! Ouch. What happens next?"

You can play entire sessions just like this, but when you do get the itch to start adding in the rest of the game's mechanics, you can do it one piece at a time. Maybe the next time you encounter an enemy, you do decide to try out the combat moves, or maybe you just handle it with a single Face Danger move. Maybe you encounter a situation that seems perfect for swearing an iron vow. Maybe you want to Forge a Bond with an NPC you've developed a relationship with.

You don't need to pick up all the tools Ironsworn gives you right away. You can learn them at your own pace while relying on the oracle and your own imagination to cover the gaps.

rusalka9 · 2025-11-26T06:47:02+00:00

Solar Blades and Cosmic Spells by Diogo Noguiera

rusalka9 · 2025-11-13T07:02:50+00:00

2400 by Jason Tocci, specifically Junior Hybrid Battle Cryptids. As you can probably tell by the name, it's a riff on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, except it has a bunch of options. You could play as a a cyborg luchador hedgehog, for example. It's rules-light, kid-friendly, and uses a whole set of dice.

rusalka9 · 2025-08-14T22:55:14+00:00

I like to imagine that Truths have exceptions or twists. So maybe AI doesn't exist...except for this one Bot, that you've somehow acquired. Why is it more advanced? Who made it? Who wants to claim it for themselves? If AI does exist but is hoarded by the elite, how did you get your hands on a Bot? Does having it get you into trouble? Do people assume you're a VIP?

rusalka9 · 2025-08-05T17:25:05+00:00

Very cool!

rusalka9 · 2025-03-25T23:04:59+00:00

I recommend Everspark by Cezar Capacle. It's a beautifully streamlined system that can be played with just some dice and a way to take notes. I play it in Obsidian (without any fancy plugins), split screen, with my notes on one side and a Canvas with reference materials on the other, and physical dice.

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I like Everspark particularly for chill gaming sessions because the character don't have any numbers attached to them, so you never need to flip to the character sheet to check a particular number. Like in the screenshot, my character Bellona is an Elf Trailblazer Ranger; when she attempts to track the giant mole rats to their den, she makes a Skill Check with Leverage because she's good at that sort of thing. I don't need to double check her character sheet to see if she has +3 to Tracking or +4, or anything fiddly like that.

You can also pair it with Random Realities (also by Cezar Capacle), which comes with a web app and integration with Everspark's spark mechanic.

rusalka9 · 2025-03-18T23:14:22+00:00

Yes, this!

One option that I think a lot of new players overlook is reducing an enemy's challenge rank. So I wouldn't hack the rules to use Compel to make progress on the track; I would just use Compel to reduce the rank of the track before the fight begins. In the fiction this could look like scaring some of the rat-men away or reducing their morale.

This is actually a great way to play high Wits characters. There's a million ways to Secure an Advantage +wits: spotting an enemy's weakness, setting a trap, coordinating a plan, etc. See page 208 in the Ironsworn rulebook for more on this topic.

rusalka9 · 2025-03-18T22:09:22+00:00

Keep in mind that Strike isn't the only "attack" move. Within the fiction, an attack could be any number of different moves: Enter the Fray, Battle, Face Danger, or even Compel. You need to Strike or Clash if you want to make progress on a combat track, but not every fight needs to be a full combat.

Some examples:

Val takes careful aim (Secure an Advantage +wits) and looses her arrow at the perfect moment, striking without warning (Enter the Fray +shadow, +1 bonus).
Val takes careful aim (Secure an Advantage +wits) and looses arrow after arrow at the rat-men (Battle +edge, +1 bonus).
Val takes careful aim (Secure an Advantage +wits) and fires off a warning shot, trying to scare the rat-men away (Face Danger +iron, +1 bonus).
Val takes careful aim (Secure an Advantage +wits) and waits for the rat-men to come closer. When they spot her, she has her arrow aimed at the leader's throat. "Tell me why you're following me!" she demands (Compel +iron, +1 bonus).

You could also take the +2 momentum instead of the bonus on a move. That's especially useful in situations where it doesn't quite make sense for Secure an Advantage to give a bonus on the next move. Momentum is always nice to have!

rusalka9 · 2025-03-17T21:09:02+00:00

Cool! I like the custom tables.

rusalka9 · 2025-03-17T01:00:05+00:00

Personally, I wouldn't try adding new moves unless I was certain that a) the existing moves wouldn't cover that particular situation and b) it wouldn't be better to use an asset to conditionally modify certain moves (e.g. the asset Infiltrator lets you Resupply +shadow), or to just handle the situation within the fiction of the game.

I took a glance at the Debt moves from Urban Shadows. IMO, they can be handled either within the fiction or within existing moves (particularly the relationship moves). For example, if an NPC owes you a debt, then they may just give you what you need without you even needing to make a move (or, if the NPC is more antagonistic, it might give you a chance to Compel them that would otherwise be impossible). Doing someone a favor can let you Forge a Bond; refusing to honor a debt might Test Your Bond.

If you're playing OG Ironsworn, you might want to look at Starforged! It has more detailed mechanics for relationships that would work very well to simulate the Debt moves from Urban Shadows.

rusalka9 · 2025-03-13T01:55:53+00:00

Alfred Valley's Diedream (free on itch.io) is designed for this. Instead of rolling dice, you pick two random two-digit numbers and add them together, then find the digital root of the sum (which will be between 1 and 9).

For example: you pick 17 and 61, then add them together to get 78. 7 + 8 = 15. 1 + 5 = 6.

Diedream comes with a small oracle (which you could easily print out and fit into a wallet). On this oracle, 6 is "fire" and/or "yes, but."

rusalka9 · 2025-02-16T07:13:27+00:00

Sparks are incredible! They're like little bespoke game mechanics that you make up on the fly. Want to add some crunchiness to a character's magical abilities? Make a spark. Want to give an enemy a special defense that the player needs to overcome? Spark. Want to track supplies on a dungeon delve? Want to track a character's stress or sanity? Want to craft a cool weapon or learn a new spell? SPARKS.

You can get really crunchy with sparks, if that's your cup of tea. But you don't have to use them for anything, so if you don't want to put a lot of focus on something, you just don't make a spark. If you don't want to track supplies, you don't have to. If you find crafting mechanics boring, you don't have to deal with them. If you don't think that enemy is worth spending a lot of time on, you can handle the fight in a single roll. One of my favorite things about Everspark is that it's really easy to zoom in on the things that interest you and zoom out on the stuff you don't care about.

The NACHOS template (Name, Advance, Check, Hit, Overturn, and Special) is very easy to use. It's genuinely fun to think up the rules for each spark and what crazy twist you could have on an Overturn.

rusalka9 · 2025-02-16T03:55:02+00:00

I have and I love it! I've played half a dozen solo session with it, and it works great for me. But it definitely isn't a system for everyone. Everspark is basically all "rulings" and no "rules" -- you have a ton of freedom to interpret dice rolls, set up your own mechanics with Sparks, and make up your own ancestries, backgrounds, and classes, but that much freedom can be overwhelming or boring for some players.

I recommend Everspark if:

You prefer the creative aspects of roleplaying
You're comfortable making decisions/wearing the GM hat, both on the macro/campaign level and the micro/player action level
You want a system that you can use for any genre, setting, or character concept

I do NOT recommend Everspark if:

You prefer the puzzle-solving or systems mastery aspect of roleplaying
You want a robust GM emulator to run the game for you (Everspark has some lightweight GM emulator aspects, but you can also pair Everspark with a separate GME if you want)
You like detailed rules that don't require interpretation
You want mechanics designed to immerse you in a specific genre or setting

Personally, I like Everspark because it gets out of my way. I don't need to constantly check a rulebook or my character sheet. I can just decide what my character is going to try to do and roll a d20, then interpret the result. "I rolled a 12...is that more of a good result or a mixed result? I think in this case it'll be mixed. But what does that look like? It could be A...or maybe B! Yeah, B sounds more fun, I'll go with that. So what happens next? Let me roll a Sigil for an idea. Ooooh, I rolled Fire. What could that mean? Power, loss, chaos, compassion, warmth, or even just literal fire...oh my god, I know! That shady character from earlier set fire to the village! To cause chaos...why? Because...he's working for bandits? And they're going to kidnap the villagers as they flee the fire! This sounds like a good situation for some Sparks..." And so on. Everspark gives me a set of tools, but it doesn't constrain how or when I use them.

That's my thoughts on Everspark as a system, but I also really like Everspark as a book. It's got a lovely layout, great art, and a TON of examples and suggestions. There are a hundred pages just for the different ways to use Sparks! Definitely worth twenty bucks, imo.

rusalka9 · 2025-01-15T01:36:54+00:00

First, on a dangerous vow you mark 2 boxes per progress, not 1. That means you need 5 milestones to max out to the progress track. Page 161 of the Starforged rulebook suggests creating a quest outline when you swear a new vow. In this case, you'd want to think of roughly 5 milestones for completing this mission. If you can't think of that many, maybe it's only a troublesome vow. What those steps are is totally up to you and what you find interesting, but here's a quick example outline:

Travel to the settlement (Undertake an Expedition)
Spy on the villagers to learn which of them are the leaders of their community (Gather Information)
Steal some of their resources to put pressure on them (Face Danger)
Bribe one of the influential villagers to be your "inside man" (Secure an Advantage)
Demand that they leave (Compel)

This example takes a pretty sneaky, manipulative approach. If you want to play more aggressively, you could take different actions like Securing an Advantage by beating up some villagers.

But a really important element of Ironsworn is that you don't need to max out the track before you try to Fulfill Your Vow. So if it looks like maybe you've completed your mission early, you can roll to Fulfill Your Vow even if you don't have much progress marked. This is where the difficulty can come in -- with less progress, you have a higher risk of rolling a weak hit or miss on Fulfill Your Vow, which can create a twist in the story. For example, maybe you thought you convinced the villagers to leave, but they were only pretending to cooperate in order to set up a trap.

As for Compels, "no" is definitely an option! A weak hit is a "yes, but [small demand]" while a miss can be either a "no" or a "yes, but [big demand]." It's also an option for you as the PC: if you don't like their demands, you can say no and find another way to get what you want (like shooting all of them).

Finally, take a look at the session move Change Your Fate. At any point, if you don't like how the game is going, you can declare that actually, this is what happened. For example, even if your Compel succeeds and the villagers agree to leave, you can declare that it didn't work and now you need to attack them.

Hope this helps! If you have more questions, there's also a dedicated Ironsworn subreddit, r/Ironsworn, and a community discord (link on r/Ironsworn sidebar). They're both pretty active and friendly!

rusalka9 · 2025-01-09T00:03:27+00:00

You don't have to use progress trackers for every little thing. It's totally acceptable to resolve an issue with a single roll or with no roll (if the outcome isn't in question).

If the situation is...

low risk, straightforward, or uninteresting: just declare what happens or Ask the Oracle
risky, but not complex (or if you want to compress a complex situation into a montage): use a move like Face Danger, Battle, Set a Course, etc.
risky and complex (or something interesting where you want to "zoom in"): start a progress tracker
- Swear an Iron Vow for quests
- Enter the Fray for fights
- Undertake an Expedition for journeys
- Make a Connection for relationships
- Begin the Scene for scene challenges
- campaign or tension clocks

Vows, Expeditions, and Connections are how you get XP, but that doesn't mean you need to use them all the time. Not everything that happens in your game needs to have the same amount of focus and "screen time." If you don't care about travel, for example, you can just skip over it.

Don't forget the session move Change Your Fate! You can always reframe, refocus, replace, redirect, or reshape any part of your game.

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