A solo Ironsworn: Starforged run

The long road home
  • Undertake a journey back to Olgar’s Stand (dangerous) . 2, 5 vs 4 + 2 wits = 6. Strong hit. +2 progress/2.
  • Make camp. 3, 5 vs 6 + 5 supply = 10. Strong hit. Focus: +1 momentum/6. Prepare: +1 to next journey move.

Gethin and Pebble make quick time, getting back to the caravan site with plenty of time left in the day. They set up camp, making a quick stew from a river fish and some nearby herbs. Gethin plans out the remainder of the return journey, and gets a full rest.

Arrival
  • Undertake a journey. 5, 6 vs 4 + 2 wits + 1 prior = 7. Strong hit. +2 progress/6
  • Undertake a journey. 2, 9 vs 4 + 2 wits = 6. Weak hit. +2 progress/8. -1 supply/4.
  • Reach your destination. 4, 9 vs 8 progress = Weak hit. Complication.

The land is now familiar. Pebble trots along, happy to be coming home, until she catches a scent and stops short, growling softly. They are in the hills now, and coming over the next rise, Gethin spots a pair of raiders–Black Fang scouts, to judge by their gear. Fear rises in Gethin: if they are this far north, already… and if these two find Olgar’s Stand, and report it as a potential target… Gethin will just have to make sure that doesn’t happen. He begins with the now-familiar blood rune.

  • Leech. 3, 6 vs 6 + 2 iron. Strong hit.

Excellent. Now can he get to the high ground?

  • Secure an Advantage (agility). 5, 8 vs 3 + 3 edge = 6. Weak hit. +1 momentum (7).
  • Enter the fray (facing off) vs pair of raiders (formidable). 5, 10 vs 4 + 1 heart = 5. Miss. -1 momentum / 6. Lose initiative.

He makes it, but they are charging towards him, and he is forced to backpedal under their attacks.

  • Clash (staff/simple weapon). 6, 10 vs 6 + 3 edge + 1 long-arm. Weak hit. +1 momentum (long-arm)/8. Suffer 3 harm, inflict 1 harm/1 progress.
  • Endure harm (3). -3 health/2. 3, 6 vs 5 + 2 iron = 7. Strong hit. -1 momentum/7, +1 health/3. Take initiative.

They trade blows. The first raider slashes lands a slash with the sword, but the pain energizes Gethin (or, perhaps, his runed staff) and he knocks the raider back.

  • Strike (staff/deadly weapon). 4, 10 vs 4 → long-arm reroll 5, 5, vs 2. Burn momentum for Strong Hit, reset to 2. Inflict 2 weapon + 1 strong hit + 2 leech = 5 harm = 5 progress/6. +2 health/5, +3 momentum/5.

Gethin follows with a blow straight to the head. The skin breaks and the staff sucks blood. He is down, and Gethin turns to his remaining foe. Pebble growls.

  • Secure an advantage (precision). 4, 9 vs 5 + 3 edge = 8. Weak hit. +1 momentum/6.

Gethin feints with the top of his staff and then hooks the raider’s foot with the bottom. He stumbles, but does not go down.

  • Strike (staff/simple weapon). 7, 7 vs 2 + 3 edge + 1 long-arm = 6. Miss, match. Lose initiative.
  • Companion Endure Harm (3). 1 health. 9, 10 vs 4 + 1 health = 5. Miss. -1 momentum/5.

Gethin strikes again, but the raider dives out of the way–directly at Pebble. He stabs her, and she panics and bolts, trailing blood.

  • Clash (staff/simple weapon). 1, 4 vs 2 + 3 edge + 1 long-arm = 6. Strong hit. Inflict 1 harm = 1 progress/7. +2 momentum/7. Take initiative.

Furious, Gethin assaults the man, landing blows and forcing him back.

  • Strike (staff/deadly weapon). 3, 3 vs 2 + 2 iron = 4. Strong hit, match. Inflict 3 harm = +3 progress/10.
  • End the fight. 1, 9 vs 10 progress = Strong hit.

Ed. note: That one started off awkwardly–Gethin is rarely going to directly start a fight to his advantage, with 1 Heart, but pretty early on I missed a strike, then missed the re-roll, and had to burn momentum. Of course, I should probably get in the habit of burning momentum more often as it tends to get up to 9 or 10 and sit there for a while. The fight was not without cost as now Gethin has to find and heal Pebble, though perhaps so close to home, some help is available…

I make this mistake too. I tend to hoard momentum like I would health potions in Skyrim.

Any dates in when the physical book will be available again? By the time I was ready to pull the trigger on it they were out of print. I’d thought you could only get them if you’d kickstarted but then saw them available and when I went back a couple of weeks later to order, poof, they were gone. I have the pdf but would really like this in book form. Along with the other doodads.

From the most recent Kickstarter update:

Starforged Launches into Retail

I’ve partnered with Modiphius for retail distribution and online sales of Starforged, and the release date is just a few days away — January 27th! Please share the word, including with your favorite local game store!

That’s today!

giphy

Those raiders won’t be reporting back any time soon… or ever. Pebble most likely headed home to lick her wounds, and indeed Gethin finds her towards the outskirts of Olgar’s Stand, with a familiar face comforting her.

“Kataka! We’re back! And we have the mandrake! And–”

“Slow down, Gethin, I don’t remember talking to you about any mandrake, and Pebble here needs our help first. We will come to the rest of it in time.”

A homecoming
  • Heal. 1, 8 vs 2 + 2 wits = 4 Weak hit. (Allow reroll due to aid from Kataka.) +2 health to Pebble/3 and -1 momentum/4.
  • Reach a milestone on Missing Mandrake, +2 progress/8.
  • Fulfill Your Vow on Missing Mandrake. 3, 8 vs 8 progress. Weak hit. 1 experience.
  • Reach a milestone on The Blight. +2 progress/6.

After tending to Pebble and taking in Gethin’s story, Kataka summarizes: “So Elstan–who wasn’t abducted by raiders, after all–sent you on a chase, but in the end his prescription for the Blight is swamp mandrake. Well, I can’t say that I’m surprised by any of it, other than the mysterious Black Fang leader your captive was so scared of. Though I’ll admit that a lightning strike on a cloudless day is a nice bit of theatrics.”

She continues, “Though I’ve run into a bit of a problem here. While you were gone, I’ve been able to stall the blight, but not reverse it. And the fine folks of Olgar’s Stand have decided that I must be the problem.” She holds up a hand to stop Gethin’s indignant response. “And I can hardly blame desperate people from acting on their fears, misplaced as they may be. You’re going to have to be the one to undo the curse, though I think with the mandrake and a few pointers from me you can more or less get it done. There still won’t be enough food for the winter, but perhaps you can use that to further your other goal: tell them that Summersong needs help, and can feed people who’ll fight against the Black Fang–and show them the gear of those two raiders you so handily dispatched to convince them of the urgency.”

“And what about you, what will you do?”

“Head south. The blight and this mysterious Black Fang activity could be a coincidence, but it feels wrong. I’m going to ask around about this new leader they have. Since you’ll be heading back to Summersong, meet me there.”

“One more thing–have you seen Elstan? He was supposed to meet me here.”

“Ha! No, I’ve seen neither hide nor hair of that one.”

Before they part, Kataka instructs Gethin on how to deploy the swamp mandrake, and what the villagers will need to do to reclaim their land from the curse.

Preparing the cure
  • Gather Information. (learning from Kataka) 2, 6 vs 3 + 2 wits + 1 bond (Kataka) = 6. Weak hit. +1 momentum/5.
  • Secure an advantage. (study the course of the blight near Olgar’s Stand and develop a plan). 6, 6 vs 5 + 2 wits = 7. Strong hit, match. +2 momentum / 7.
  • Reach a milestone on The Blight. +2 progress/8.

While Gethin doesn’t quite follow all the reasoning behind Kataka’s explanations, once he visits the blighted lands himself and applies the mandrake–combined with the other supplies Kataka left with him–it becomes clear. In fact, he quickly manages to restore a good swath of dead farmland to health; well, to fertility, anyway. Emboldened, he takes his case to the people of Olgar’s Stand.

A chapter closes
  • Compel (the people of Olgar’s Stand to fight the Blight). 7, 8 vs 6 + 1 heart + 1 bond = 8. Weak hit. Going off book here: +1 progress on the Blight/9.
  • Fulfill Your Vow on The Blight. 1, 2 vs 9: Strong hit. +2 experience/4.
  • Sojourn. 3, 2 vs 5 + 1 heart + 1 bond = 7. (Allow reroll for fulfilled vow). Strong hit. +1 Pebble health/4; +2 momentum/9.
  • Advance Hound and Long-Arm for 4 experience (2 each)–zero unused experience remaining.

Gethin convinces some of the villagers of his plan. It’s slower than he’d like, but eventually they get it cleaned up. And then, finally, Gethin is home.

But… things are not what they used to be. When he looks at his trusty staff, he cannot help but remember the miles and miles it has carried him–further in the last weeks than all his previous years. (When you Undertake a Journey and score a strong hit, or if you accompany an ally who scores a strong hit on that move, your staff provides support and comfort in your travels; take +1 momentum.) Pebble, too, seems changed; while no stranger to intimidation and occasional violence when protecting Gethin’s goats, she now has a ferocity Gethin never saw before. (Ferocious: When you Strike or Clash alongside your hound and score a hit, inflict +1 harm or take +1 momentum.) And his herd is still gone, and the people are still angry and scared. When they ask him what he saw, to the south, he carefully mentions the situation at Summersong. Finally, one evening at the communal hall, he lays it out directly.

“The Black Fang are a threat to us all,” he proclaims as he drops the raider’s swords on the table. “They are behind the curse that blighted our lands and herds. These swords come from two of their raiders I found just past our hills. Summersong has a stout wall, but if they cannot hold off the Black Fang, Eaglespire and Olgar’s Stand are next. I ask any who are strong and willing to come south with me, and meet the threat head on.” The villagers shift uncomfortably in their seats. “Plus, they have food.” Well, I hope so, he thinks.

Ed. note: My first real rules gripe is that getting a weak hit on Fulfill Your Vow reduces the experience you get. I guess I understand it, thematically, but experience is so rare (at least for me) that it’s a real feel-bad moment. Other than that, though, a satisfying close of the first chapter. I’m excited to see if I can put Gethin’s more-comfortable staff and more-ferocious hound to use. I think it’s also time for Gethin to try to take more control of his life, instead of just being sent on errands by Wardens.

Leave for Summersong
  • Compel (a group of villagers to come to aid Summersong). 2, 4 vs 6 + 1 heart + 1 bond = 8. Strong hit. +1 momentum/10.
  • Reach a milestone on See Summersong Survive. +1 progress/1.
  • Undertake a Journey to Summersong (troublesome, we’ve already been there). 5, 9 vs 1 + 2 wits + 1 bond = 4. Miss. Pay the Price (15): You are separated from something or someone. Someone runs off with food, -1 supply/3.

That seems to do it. Whether they are motivated by fear, vengeance, or the prospect of a hungry winter, a group of Olgar’s Stand’s ablest (and some not-so-able) citizens agree to head south with Gethin.

The journey south does not have an auspicious beginning. Barely a day into their travels, the group has shrunk by at least one person and a considerable amount of food. Whether they head back to Olgar’s Stand and hope to survive the winter with it, or try to sell it to the hungry, Gethin can’t know, but he calls an early halt to set up camp for the night.

A battlefield
  • Make Camp. 1, 10 vs 6 + 3 supply = 9 Weak hit. Prepare: +1 to next journey.
  • Undertake a Journey (toward Summersong). 6, 10 vs 5 + 2 wits + 1 previous = 8. Weak hit. +3 progress/3. -1 supply/2. Oracle for the location: Cold Battlefield.
  • Resupply (scavenge the battlefield). 6, 8 vs 2 + 2 wits = 4. Miss. -1 momentum/9.

The next day fares better. Supplies continue to dwindle, unavoidably, but progress is fast. They happen upon the remains of an old battle–more of a raid, really. It appears that some small group of people–merchants or wanderers or the like–met with violence as they entered the forest. Not much is left, just some broken wagons and destroyed goods, but perhaps something of worth can be scavenged.

After an hour of fruitless searching, they are left empty handed and demoralized.

A tree
  • Undertake a Journey (toward Summersong). 4, 10 vs 4 + 2 wits = 6. Weak hit. +3 progress/6. -1 supply/1. Oracle for location: Strange Tree.
  • Resupply (gather from the tree). 2, 5 vs 5 + 2 wits = 7. Strong hit. +2 supply/3.

The next days’ travel brings the band to a tall tree standing by itself in the middle of an open field. The tree is unfamiliar to Gethin, but one of the villagers, Lestara, claims that its leaves are edible, the fruit delicious, and the bark can be brewed for a restorative tea. With supplies running low, Gethin figures that they might as well give it a shot–and indeed, it seems Lestara is right.

Arrival
  • Undertake a Journey (toward Summersong). 3, 5 vs 6 + 2 wits = 8; Strong hit. +3 progress/9. Long-arm: +1 momentum/10.
  • Reach your destination (Summersong). 6, 10 vs 9 progress Weak hit. Complication: Kataka is not at Summersong.
  • Reach a milestone on See Summersong Survive. +1 progress/2.

I tried a short journey to Summersong, relying on the oracle to add some brief flavor to the waypoints. I think it worked well. I intentionally kept the rewards/penalties for the journey simple to keep up the pace. Now that Gethin is at Summersong, and Kataka isn’t, we’ll have to figure out where to go next.

Very well! You’re great at this!

Aw, shucks. :)

What I actually meant, though, was that it worked well for me as a player, in that I enjoyed it. Glad to hear it translated well to the screen!

Side note: I’m now completely caught up to what I’ve actually played (no more notes waiting to be transcribed). What this means is (a) updates will slow down and (b) if anyone has suggestions, now’s the time!

Oh man, I’m sorry. I actually just got started again and have two updates to post…

Ok, but what I don’t have is an appropriate gif…

IMO this is good for practically every occaison.

Captain Kirk Sigh GIF by Star Trek

If Gethin had hoped to be greeted as a hero–or even an ally–the people of Summersong had other ideas. Asha has been working hard to prepare the town and its people for the return of the Black Fang, but progress is mixed, at best. The people are divided, and this is reflected in the arguments of the council of elders. Some propose trying to buy off the raiders; some would rather flee. Asha leads the group preparing a defense, and still others argue that their foes have moved on, and the crisis is over. After conferring with Asha, Gethin cannot imagine that the town will be ready in time, unless something changes.

As for the reinforcements from Olgar’s Stand, Asha’s people do their best to make them welcome, though others view them with suspicion. It turns out they do have enough food to share, at least for now: though there was much burning and destruction of the outlying lands as the raiders passed through, they moved too quickly to do much more than superficial damage. In addition to the granary within the town walls, each farm has plenty of hiding places of its own–Ironlanders are nothing if not canny survivors.

Gethin had hoped to confer with Kataka, but she is not in Summersong. According to Asha, she had become convinced that the blight, the new Black Fang leader, and… other things… were connected. She’s now trailing the raider warband, and Gethin decides that he should find her. After all, finding out just who is in charge of the Black Fang must be the first step on the journey to defeating, or at least surviving, them.

Finding Kataka
  • Gather Information (track Kataka). 2, 5 vs 5 + 2 wits + 1 hound = 8. Strong hit. +2 momentum/10 (still!). Finding Kataka is easy.
  • Oracle for information about the BF leader: Communicate Idea.
  • Reach a milestone on Black Fang Leader’s Identity. +3 progress/3.

Pebble (and to a lesser extent, Gethin) has no trouble tracking Kataka; it helps that she was tracking a warband not being particularly careful about their own tracks. Kataka has made some discoveries about the leader of the Black Fang. She goes by Adda, although the name is probably a recent acquisition. She believes that she has received some sort of communication about her destiny to rule the Ironlands, or the whole world, or perhaps just the raider clans. Who, or what, gave her this idea–or how she plans to go about it, other than tearing through the Havens, is unclear. The warband’s progress has been erratic, bouncing between the Graywatch Hills to the east and the edge of the Deep Wilds to the west. It seems they are looking for something, and are running out of patience. Kataka worries that soon they will return to Summersong–the pillaging is getting thin and despite Adda’s unusual ability to corral the usually fractious raiders, more and more of their eyes turn greedily to the wealth they think must lie behind the town’s walls.

Only one roll in that whole session? Uh oh.

“But now that you’re here,” Kataka says, “I want to track down a pair of raiders that snuck off yesterday from the main group. With the two of us, we should be able to handle them.”

Pebble yelps. “And yes, with you, girl, they won’t stand a chance,” Kataka adds, while scratching the dog’s head.

The Raider Pair
  • Gather Information (track the raider pair). 6, 7 vs 3 + 2 wits + 1 hound = 6. Miss. The raiders get the drop on them.
  • Enter the Fray (ambushed; dangerous, as it’s 2v2). 5, 5 vs 5 + 2 wits = 7. Strong hit, match. +2 momentum/10. Gain initiative.
  • Strike (staff, deadly weapon). 5, 8 vs 2 + 2 iron = 4. Burn momentum for a strong hit. 2 (deadly weapon) + 1 (strong hit) + 1 (ferocious hound) = 4 harm / 8 progress. Reset momentum.
  • Strike (staff, simple weapon). 8, 4 vs 2 + 3 edge + 1 strong-arm. Weak hit. 1 harm / 10 progress. +1 momentum (ferocious hound) / 3. Lose initiative.
  • Clash (staff, simple weapon). 2, 1 vs 3 + 4 = 7. Strong hit. 1 harm / still 10 progress. +2 momentum (strong hit, ferocious hound) / 5. Gain initiative.
  • End the Fight. 9, 4 vs 10. Strong hit.
  • Oracle (character motivation): Refute a falsehood. Action/theme: uncover blood.
  • Reach a milestone on Black Fang Leader’s Identity. +3 progress/6.

Despite Kataka’s assurances, the raiders seem to know they’re coming and have an ambush prepared. What they aren’t prepared for, though, is a second opponent and a ferocious hound. As the pair close on Kataka, Gethin and Pebble charge in; Gethin drops the first with a severe blow to the head with his staff, and Pebble bowls over the second. However, he regains his footing and advances on the dog, but Kataka and Gethin quickly have him surrounded, and he drops his sword.

Questioning the remaining raider, Gethin and Kataka learn that despite the warband’s chaotic journey, the Black Fang was aware it was being tracked by Kataka, and these two were assigned to handle her. Perhaps it was a good thing Gethin and Pebble arrived when they did, though he suspects Kataka could have handled them herself.

Apparently key to Adda’s belief in her destiny is her ancestry. She claims descent from Yorath, the leader of the first refugees from the Old World to arrive in the Ironlands. Of course, this is preposterous–everyone knows that Yorath and his band were slain, to a person, by the Firstborn. Still, she seems convinced of it, and that she will find a token of some kind to prove it and give her leadership of all Ironlanders.

Regardless, the raider’s account of the Black Fang’s wanderings make it clear that they are not done with Summersong. Gethin and Kataka decide to bring him back to the town and, hopefully, galvanize resistance there.

(I finally remembered to use momentum!)

Yessssss. An update!

I know, I’ve been so bad at it. I’ve got one more in the pipe and then I’m going to put up a poll for what Gethin should do next. (I’ve got a couple ideas but can’t decide.)

The trip back to Summersong is uneventful. Gethin, Kataka, and Asha “work with” the captured raider to attempt to build a picture of Adda, the Black Fang leader, and then present that to the Summersong council of elders.

Interrogation and Presentation
  • Secure an Advantage (compile evidence). 3, 2 vs 4 (2 + 2 wits): Strong hit. +1 to next move.
  • Gather Information (speak to council). 4, 8 vs 8 (5 + 2 wits + 1 advantage): Weak hit. +1 momentum/6.
  • Reach a Milestone on Black Fang Leader’s Identity. 3 progress / 9.
  • Fulfill Your Vow: 8, 1 vs 9 progress: Strong hit. +1 experience, vow fulfilled.
  • Reach a Milestone on See Summersong Survive. 1 progress / 3.

One elder is able to shed some light on Adda’s possible motivation. When Yorath first landed in the Ironlands, he was said to have brought a helmet from the Old World that bound the people together under his rule. This was lost when he and his band were defeated and slain by the Firstborn. Nobody knows where, exactly, his final defeat occurred, but rumor places it somewhere in the vicinity of Summersong. (With an eye roll, Kataka mutters that rumor places Yorath’s Helm all over the Ironlands.) This is not as absurd a claim as it appears at first glance; while we think of the Firstborn today as inhabiting the wilder reaches of the Ironlands, back then they would have roamed the whole of the land, and the relatively fertile area around what is now Summersong would be a natural place for Yorath’s band to attempt to settle. While there’s no actual evidence for any of this, the story–combined with Gethin’s evidence that Adda is actually seeking a relic of Yorath’s–helps sway the council into taking the Black Fang’s threat to Summersong more seriously.

  • Advance a threat: 36. The threat works subtly to advance toward its goal, or the danger escalates. Mark menace / 1.

While the council is hearing stories about ancient history, a scout brings word that the Black Fang has not been idle. They have been turning to more desperate methods in their search: there are reports that they are no longer content to pillage food and supplies from the farms they overrun, but have taken to brutally “questioning” farmers about any hint of unusual features or mystical anomalies on their land.