Play in Many Worlds with Ironsworn and Starforged
Everything is Ironsworn if you believe | The Lone Toad
Welcome Toad Warriors - to another edition of the Lone Toad. Lately, I've been exploring the fantastic lands of Eribor in a new campaign using the lore and setting from The One Ring (2E) but using the rules for Ironsworn. I've been having a great time hunting for a great evil around Weather Top and investigating what is attacking the Dwarf caravans.
But you may be asking, "Croaker, my friend and intelligent and super smart Solo RPG blogger, why don't you just use The One Ring and the Strider solo rules?"
Well, let's talk about why you'd use a Sworn ruleset (Ironsworn, Starforged, Sundered Isles, plus their official and third-party expansions) instead of your licensed RPG for solo play.
Why Use a Sworn Ruleset?
Not Solo Play First - Barring a few rare examples (Star Trek Captain's Log being one), licensed properties aren't built for solo play first. Yes, they often have official or unofficial support for solo play, but under the hood, it's still a traditional RPG. Take The One Ring, for example. Strider mode is good, but it's an addition to a traditional game. The One Ring has some excellent rules for playing as a group, but I don't believe that translates well into a solo RPG.
Lack of Modern Support - This point is almost purely aimed at Star Wars. The Fantasy Flight version of the game has mixed reviews. I've heard a lot of good things about it personally. The problem with that version is that current support for the property for TTRPGs is low. Why not use a ruleset that is currently getting expansions and improvements?
You Already Know the Rules - All these licensed properties use their own rulesets for the most part. Meaning if you quickly want to jump into those worlds, you'll have to learn how the rules and solo procedures work (if they have them). Not an issue if you use an Ironsworn set of rules.
The Tools are There - The Ironsworn set of rules already has excellent sets of tools to help you play solo. Iron Journal and Stargazer will help you run anything more efficiently.
Tips on Using a Sworn game
Find the Right 'Sworn' for your game - Each of the Sworn games matches up well with some well-known franchises. Ironsworn would work well with Lord of the Rings or Conan the Barbarian and any other number of fantasy properties. Starforged, of course, works great with Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, etc. Sundered Isles is perfect for a Pirates of the Caribbean campaign, and anything that has a swashbuckler vibe like The Three Musketeers or The Legend of Zorro
Create your own Truths (or don't stress them) - When you start your Sworn campaign, don't go with the truths as presented in the Sworn books. Instead, create your own Truths using your knowledge of the franchise. Or don't stress the Truths if you know the world well. I've read Dune like a dozen times, so I reckon I know it well enough to ensure I follow the feel of the books.
Use aspects from core books and source books - Don't go throw away your shiny new licensed books (unless you're throwing them to me). They have TONS of useful information from lore, locations, maps, quest starters, and character creation. For my Lord of the Rings campaign, I went through the life path character creation I found in a The One Ring supplement and then converted that into a character in Ironsworn. It made my character much more fleshed out from the start.
Create Custom Assets - When you're creating your character or advancing them, consider creating a custom asset that more matches the world in which you are playing. If you are worried about balance or giving your character an undue advantage, then copy a current asset but reskin it for something more appropriate.
For example, in my Lord of the Rings-inspired campaign, I created a Dwarf, and I wanted an asset that gave him an advantage underground. I couldn't find anything in the Ironsworn assets that worked, so instead I took the Waterborn asset and converted it to a dungeon asset, which I thought worked great.
There you have it. These tips will help you explore your favourite worlds and universes. Always remember, solo play is your play. Play what you want and play it the way you enjoy.
Want more Ironsworn content?
Check out this review of the expanded Lodestar supplement from the Knight of the Toad, Eric Dill of
. Eric does a fantastic job explaining the updated Lodestar in a much better way than I could have. It means I don’t have to do it myself! Go and read and then subscribe to The Dragon’s Den. Tell Eric that Croaker sends his regards… is starting an ambitious project, combining Mausritter with Ironsworn. I’m excited to see the project unfold.
Bus Hard
I made a thing!
Spice up your boring bus commute by playing Bus Hard. Using real world events, like how late the bus is or if someone bumps you, you'll create a narrative that might make your day suck a little less.
Check it out on Itch and download your Pay What You Want copy today!
A Milestone
The Lone Toad has been running for a few years now and this post represents another milestone! This is the 50th Lone Toad newsletter! I want to do a Best of Series inspired by a few other creators out there, so keep a look out for that!
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YES! I've been using Sundered Isles for almost everything. It's so flexible. The one tweek I've adopted from the Bad Spot is using one legacy track and not limiting the skill options in the moves.
Great article with great tips. Thanks for sharing.