Ironsworn: Starforged PDF just landed at DriveThruRPG

[innerdude]

Some of you may know how big a fan I am of Ironsworn. Just wanted to give a shoutout that the PDF of Starforged landed on DriveThru.

I've already played 2 sessions of it (a friend of mine backed the KS), and it's without a doubt an improvement on Ironsworn, which was already fantastic.

The rules, moves, assets, progression, everything has been tuned and tweaked for clarity and usability. The assumed game world (that you create 98% of yourself, through guided prompts) is incredibly full of plots, twists, starting points, action, and intrigue.

With 20-30 minutes of work, tops, you can easily use Star Wars, Dune, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, or The Expanse as instant drop-in replacements.

TL;DR --- This is the easiest 5-star product review I've ever written in my life.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

Some of you may know how big a fan I am of Ironsworn. Just wanted to give a shoutout that the PDF of Starforged landed on DriveThru.

I looked into Ironsworn a while ago, but the name of the product and some other things I can't remember stopped me from diving deeper.

Can you sell me on it?

 

[aramis erak]

Vows, when sworn touching Iron, are magically binding. You're essentially an oath-driven space viking... finding your place in the frontiers of the galaxy....

Starforged is to Ironsworn as Starfinder is to Pathfinder.

 

[beta-ray]

That's great… but I've never heard of Ironsworn or Starforged.

Guessing this is it?

Ironsworn - Starforged

Learn more about Starforged, the standalone evolution of the Ironsworn tabletop roleplaying game. Includes full support for solo, co-op, and guided play!

www.ironswornrpg.com

I'll take a look but a summary would've helped a little.

 

[innerdude]

Hmmm, @TheAlkaizer , how to sell you on Ironsworn?

Imagine you liked the general theory/concept of Apocalypse World / Dungeon World / Powered by the Apocalypse games, but could never quite get "into" it / understand it / make it work. You tried AW, or Dungeon World, but it just never clicked, and it was just too abstract in places, didn't provide guidance in enough places.

Now imagine that someone created an "inspired by Powered by the Apocalypse / Forged in the Dark" fantasy game that adds a fun, unique dice mechanic; fleshes out the rules with some needed mechanical heft; goes to great lengths to explain and provide examples of game principles in play; gives you a cool assumed setting of Norse exploration, adventure, mystery, and magic, but leaves the details to make it your own; lets you play with a standard GM + players, co-op with just players using thematic "Oracles" to make heavy decisions, or solo using the same thematic Oracles.

Then imagine a well-designed book, with easy to read and digest layout, and excellent, thematic art.

And then imagine that book is given away for nothing by its creator.

That's Ironsworn.


Now imagine the same game creator takes the original, adds some beautiful polish and tweaking to the rules / moves / principles in just a few places, adds a fantastic veneer of space opera sci-fi over the top, adds some amazing new art, provides excellent prompts for building your initial setting, and then sets you loose. Sure, it's $20, but considering he gave you the original for free, who's complaining?

That's Starforged.

*Edit -- I loved Ironsworn so much that I happily paid full price for a hardcopy of the main book, plus the "Delve" expansion, and didn't think twice about paying for the Starforged PDF. The system as a whole is easily the best gaming investment I've made in nearly a decade.