"Namba had sworn her vow to track down herd and brother, knowing they should be a few days journey into the Havens. But now an outrider is telling her they are far away, maybe in the Deep Wilds, and it may take months to track them down..."
Commencing with the Starting Scene and a couple of more for Ironsworn. Following on from the RPG Intro and Char Gen.
Ironsworn solo - intro | start | partway | finish | all ironsworn
Disclosure - I'm a DriveThru RPG affiliate
Getting Started
I'm using Ironsworn and no other tools currently for this solo playthrough. It's designed as a solo rpg with everything you need in oracles, rules and systems.
Namba of Whitemark is our character, with the description.
Namba is an outrider of Whitemark, a settlement in the Flooded Lands, not far from the Havens. Assisting other communities or travellers on the back of her companion, a horse named Ranna. She wields an iron blade that belonged to her great grandmother, who brought it back from the Deep Wilds.
For the Inciting Incident we've got Death of a Horse Companion.
In Ironsworn you usually start with two iron vows, one a long tem goal and the second short term one. Namba has a long term vow of Find the Glade of Buando (Extreme vow), and the first scene we'll find out the second.
From a game point of view, Namba has the Asset "Rider" but has no mount, so that's the first thing to try to sort out.
This is my first time playing Ironsworn, so looking to try out many of the different features and systems.
Starting People and Places
I'm keeping track of important people and places, which is fairly limited to start. These aren't part of the system (such as in Mythic GM Emulator), but kept for my own notes.
People
- Zura-Maya (stoic, scout) - Namba's mentor and in charge of Whitemark's outriders. Has seen much death and loss (Namba has a bond)
- Kataka (older half-brother of Namba, critical, adventurer) - lives in the wilds alongside a herd of horses, valued by Whitemark outriders. Ventured out into Ironlands years ago, to return with a harrowed look and would not speak of time away. (Namba has a bond)
Places
- Community of Whitemark (forest, rich) - Namba's adopted home, a place among the trees with huge gardens, with seeds sought by others (Namba has a bond)
- Glade of Buando (Deep Wilds) - Sought by Namba's family for generations, sadi to grant a miraculous blessing. Mentioned in an ancient text from when ancestors first arrived in the Ironlands.
Adventures of Namba
Unlike Mythic or some other engines, Ironsworn has no particular break point for scenes, so it's up to me when it makes sense for a new scene.
Scene 1 - An Oath Sworn, Edge of the Flooded Lands (Momentum 2, Supply 5, Health 5, Spirit 5)
Oracle roll (Action - Transform, Theme - Truth)
Kim was gone. Namba's faithful companion since swearing her Outrider vows for Whitemark. Snatched during the night by tentacles that reached into their boat. Namba had been forcefully restrained from diving in after her horse, and her last memory was seeing her struggling in the swamp water.
The last few hours had been hard, the hardest of her life. As she waited for dawn, mourning her friend, she had thought of the tales. Tales of troubles in the Ironlands, of horrors stirring that had been thought myth. Of dead walking the Barrier Islands, strange animal-hybrids in the Havens and Deep Wilds, and a ghost-queen in the Veiled Mountains
Now she believed them.
And so at dawn, she sat on a rocky shrine to a forgotten god, with her mentor Zura-Maya as witness. She thought of the task so many of her ancestors had tried to accomplish, and the vow she had sworn long ago to find the Glade of Buando, and how this was a sign that it was her turn to make the attempt.
So she took up the iron blade of her great-grandmother, and slicing her arm, made an iron vow
"I will find the Havenswind Herd and earn a new companions, so I may continue as a Whiterock Outrider"
Swear an Iron Vow (+Heart, +1 for Whitemark as Bond - Weak Hit)
Zura-Maya took her hands. "You must find your brother Kataka, but it's been a year since he and the herd were last seen"
One thing at a time. Brother, horse and then glade.
Scene 2 - An Elusive Herd, Edge of the Havens (Momentum 3, Supply 5, Health 5, Spirit 5)
Fortsfall was at the edge of the swamp, where two trails and a river from the Havens met with the Flooded Lands. It was to here many Outriders accompanied travellers heading to Whitemark. From here they could find a boat to the town, where many sought seeds and plants from its garden.
It was here Namba could also find word of her brother Kataka, who kept near the Havenswind Herd, wild-roaming horses that the Outriders had long bonded.
Gather Information (+Wits. Miss)
After an afternoon of talking to Outriders and travellers with the help of Zura-Maya, a scout from the west was the last to have seen them. The herd were heading into the Deep Wilds, but Kataka hadn't said why...
After more asking around, Namba found someone heading upriver toward the wilds, and were looking for someone to help them with their canoe.
Scene 3 - An Undertaking, Fortsfall in the Havens (Momentum 3, Supply 5, Health 5, Spirit 5)
Annem was her new travel companion, and to Namba he looked up to the job. A tall man with a sullen look, one of his eyes was missing, part of a scar that ran from cheek to forehead.
She had taken the front of the two-person canoe, hearing little from her other paddler. She knew he had been a guard somewhere in the Havens, and little more than that. He hoped to find work at Longhall, a settlement upriver from here.
She had had time to look around, at the heath and hills of the Havens. And mourn a horse stolen in the dark.
Undertake a Journey (to the Deep Wilds, + Wits. Miss).
Oracle roll (Action - Support, Theme - Possession)
And now they were, at the end of the first day, repairing their canoe. A rock had pierced the bottom, and Annem worked with fix it.
Hearing a noise in the undergrowth, Namba went to investigate, coming face to face with a large boar, clearly agitated. Breathing into calm, she stood her ground and tried to pacify the creature.
Face Danger (+ Heart, +1 for Animal Kin. Strong Hit + Event [11]). Finally, first one of the game!
Oracle roll for Good Event (Action - Endure, Theme - Labour)
The boar had sensed her connection to the land, and quickly left her in peace. She and Annem had laboured long in to the evening on the canoe, the guard finally loosening up some. It turned out they knew some of the same people, and Annem had grown up in Whiterock too, just a few years before her.
Forge a Bond (+ Heart. Strong Hit!)
Seems she and the one-eyed guard would be getting on ok after all. This might not be such a bad journey.
Undertake a Journey (+ Wits. Miss, but burn Momentum of 7 for a Weak Hit, -1 Supply)
Waypoint - Lake, Savage
Scene 4 - The Dangers of the River, in the Havens (Momentum 2, Supply 4, Health 5, Spirit 5)
The two paddled under an archway of bone, with runes hanging from it warning of danger in the lake beyond. They paddled quickly, watching the bones and wrecks around them. As they neared the far side of the lake, strange eels leapt out, sporting eyes all up their body.
Face Danger (+ Edge, +1 for Animal Kin. Weak Hit, -1 Spirit)
Acting fast, Namba cut one headless, then threw its body into the water. It's companions were thrown back, to feed on their comrade.
But Namba and Annem had the feeling of being watched...
Reaching the other side, they went a short way upriver and pulled the canoe in to rest for evening.
Make Camp (+ Supply. Strong Hit for +1 Momentum and Prepare) plus Event (Truth of a relationship is revealed)
Annem was clearly besotted with his new companion. That evening he gave Namba comfort, holding her as she told stories of her horse by the campfire.
Undertake a Journey (+ Wits. Weak Hit, -1 Supply)
Waypoint - Island, Perilous
Ahead the two saw a marshy island in the river, covered in black flowers. As they studied it, a form rose from the water...
Face Danger (+ Wits. Miss). Pay the Price (Harm -2 Health)
Endure Harm (+ Health. Miss, -1 Momentum)
...and lunging at Namba, seizing her paddle and sinking fangs into her arm...
Foe - a Sodden, but Dangerous (instead of Formidable as first ever combat!)
Enter the Fray (+ Wits. Weak Hit to take Initiative)
Annem strikes the creature with an oar, and it let's go of Namba for a moment. Both see a naked woman with long hair and mottled flesh.
Strike (+ Iron. Weak Hit to mark 2 Progress and lose Initiative)
Training drives Namba to react, drawing ancestor's iron sword and cutting the creature, some spirit of the river. The canoe rocked as she heard the splash of Annem hitting the water behind her.
Clash (+ Iron. Weak Hit to mark 2 Progress). Pay the Price ( Something of value lost)
Slashing at the spirit again, Namba left another wound, only for it to disappear under the boat, then drive its hand through the bottom, catching her leg.
Clash (+ Iron. Weak Hit to mark 2 Progress). Pay the Price (Harm -2 Health)
Endure Harm (+ Health. Miss, -1 Momentum)
Thrown from the canoe, Namba struggled with her foe, as it dragged her down into the cold water.
(with it looking desperate, it was time to use once per fight move)
Turn the Tide - Compel on Annem (+ Heart, +1 for Bond, +1 for TtT. Weak Hit to steal Initiative)
Oracle roll for NPC request (Action - Deliver, Theme - Land)
And then a spear is thrust at it, and the creature switches it's attention to the tall guard stood on the island edge. Shouting at Namba to get up on the island, Annem keeps it at bay.
Secure an Advantage (+Edge. Strong Hit for +2 Momentum)
Namba crawled up to the island, spluttering and coughing, stopping to grab a bag from the water before surveying the area for something that might aid.
Like a broken path up into the shore.
End the Fight (vs 6 Progress, Strong Hit)
She was wounded, their foe was a unknown spirit and their canoe was lost. It was time to go.
Throwing an axe at the creature, it retreated back in the water. Calling to Annem, she lead the way out of the area, as they retreated with what they could carry, into woods beside the river...
Next Scene - No Horse, No Boat (Momentum 5, Supply 3, Health 1, Spirit 4)
Characters and Notes
Namba of Whitemark
Namba is an outrider of Whitemark, a settlement in the Flooded Lands, not far from the Havens. Assisting other communities or travellers on the back of her companion, a horse named Ranna. She wields an iron blade that belonged to her great grandmother, who brought it back from the Deep Wilds
Edge 2, Heart 3, Iron 2, Shadow 1, Wits 1
Assets: Animal Kin (1), Rider (1), Swordmaster (1)
Bonds: (4) Zura-Maya (mentor), Kataka (half-brother), Community of Whitemark, Annem Sureshot (travel companion)
Vows and Journeys:
- Find the Glade of Buando (Extreme Vow, 0 Progress) - Find a glade in the Deep Wilds, sought by her family for generations, mentioned in an ancient text and said to grant a miraculous blessing. But of her kin have tried and failed to find it.
- Find the Havenswind Herd and Earn a New Companion (Troublesome Vow, 0 Progress) - Find the herd of horses her half-brother keeps near to, last seen somewhere in the Deep Wilds.
- Journey to the Deep Wilds (Dangerous Journey, 4 Progress) - Going upriver through the Havens, accompanied by Annem who wants to get Longhall on the way.
People
- Zura-Maya (stoic, scout) - Namba's mentor and in charge of Whitemark's outriders. Has seen much death and loss (Namba has a bond)
- Kataka (older half-brother of Namba, critical, adventurer) - lives in the wilds alongside a herd of horses, valued by Whitemark outriders. Ventured out into Ironlands years ago, to return with a harrowed look and would not speak of time away. (Namba has a bond)
- Annem Sureshot (guard, one-eyed) - Seeks work at Longhall, former archer who lost confidence after losing eye. Besotted with Namba (Namba has a bond)
Places
- Community of Whitemark (Flooded Lands, forest, rich) - Namba's adopted home, a place among the trees with huge gardens, with seeds sought by others (Namba has a bond)
- Glade of Buando (Deep Wilds) - Sought by Namba's family for generations, sadi to grant a miraculous blessing. Mentioned in an ancient text from when ancestors first arrived in the Ironlands.
Finishing Up
It felt weird not having interrupt scenes / more formal scene structure! after playing last few games
Next up will be getting to grips more with Ironsworn and hoping Namba can make progress...
