There are relatively few games that get me thinking: "This is beyond awesome, I must put everything else on the back burner and play this immediately" after reading a couple of pages. Well - Ironsworn did just that. I loved the setting, the atmosphere, the PbtA-inspired mechanics and I especially liked the vow/journey progress tracks (plus, the black and white photos fit with the overall theme surprisingly well). I recently started to really appreciate games that offer a more robust "player project" mechanics than just "if you talk about it long enough, you will succeed" and Ironsworn seemed to really hit the spot for me. We already ran a session zero and all players looked very involved and excited.

best solo rpg! it has lite rules and makes use of narrative playing. No pre-written path. The system helps you to develop your own story. The engine is you.

But not only solo. Having the option to play without a GM is also great.

If you look for narrative RPG (not miniatures on a grid but theatre of mind) look no further.

Thank you Shawn for this gem (and for bringing back roleplaying into my life)!

This is a very nicely put-together game. The core rules, which are available for free, are well-written, beautifully organized, and easy to understand. The game is engaging, and allows for interesting narrative RP -- a so-called "story game." Most mechanics of the game are highly abstracted, and this helps the player(s) to tell their story, without the need to chronicle individual actions like rolling a single to-hit with a specific weapon against an enemy's particular armor class.

Ordinarliy, I do not like it when the game's core rules are suffused with setting information, because to me, the rules should be how one plays, and the setting is up to the DM. However, in the case of Ironsworn, I think the setting material helps clarify and provide context for the rules. Although one need not use the Ironlands or its setting-specific material, the way the author sets up and explains the setting provides reasons why the mechanics work the way they do. For example, the "Iron Vow" mechanic, which is key to the game, particularly makes sense in the context of a harsh, unforgiving land where a broken promise could lead to suffering and death. Additionally, the Ironlands are a "low magic" setting, which explains why the magic system ("Ritual" assets) is rather minimal. There are no wizards hurling fireballs in this game (at least not without major home-brewing), and the setting explains why.

Additoinally, I find the setting highly attractive... the map is reminiscent of Greenland, and Ironlanders of the Vikings, and yet they are unique enough that they seem to be a land and a people all their own. I've told the author in the Ironsworn discord that I can easily picture a series of novels set in the Ironlands, chronicling the vows and adventures of those who swear to the Iron. In fact, the setting is so attractive that I have considered putting my next D&D campaign into the Ironlands and adapting some of its mechanisms to D&D play (mainly because I don't think I'd be able to convince my players to switch games). I love the idea, for instance, of telling my players they gain a level when they fulfill an Iron Vow....

I do not (yet) have a hard copy of these products, but I can speak for the quality of the PDFs, which is high. They are wonderfully bookmarked so you can find anything. The pages are laid out well. The black-and-white artwork is perfect for the mood and feel of the Ironlands (I'm sure it was done to cut down on printing costs for hard copies, but I think that the B&W works well thematically as well).

Overall, I can't say enough good things about this product. It's free, so it is a no-brainer on DLing the core rules. But it took me only one read-through of the free PDF to come back here and order the other books such as Delve. And I am planning to get hard copies of everything in the next little while... so that tells you how good this book is.

A truly magnificent game. PBTA Dungeon World crossed with Mythic. The production is first rate and way better than many premium games. The way the mechanics fuel the narrative is very impressive. The Oracles are inspiring and fire the imagination. Flexible game world, Vikings blended with Game of Thrones. Great solo, awesome in coop. Incredibly this is also free! Its so good its replaced DW...sorry Adam K.

One of the best RPGs that I have found in my whole life. It is challenging, fun, sparks your imagination, and most of all, hackable.

Thank you Shawn, for this wonderful masterpiece.

Wow! This is far, far better than expected and one of the best things I've purchased on this site. I say purchased - it was free which is all the more amazing! Essentially this is a very good structure for generating character-driven epic stories and campaigns without messing with minutia. You will find big challenges, epic exploration, unique and troubled characters and great quest arcs. You will not find tactical battle simulation or loot tables. Instead you'll find a very flexible and adaptable system for developing major character and story arcs and resolving them.

This feels to me like a cross between a RPG and a fantasy novel generation tool. I highly recommend it. A few things to be aware of:

• This can be played guided but honestly it's designed for unguided solo or cooperative play (e.g. no GM)
• It's going to be a lot of world-building effort on your part to play it successfully
• You'll feel like you're "making it all up" a lot but it's interesting and has success/failure determined for you. If you would prefer a system where things are created for you and you respond to them this is not for you
• The oracle tables are very good, some of the best I've seen. Note that I've purchased a ton of products with oracle tables and adventure generation tools and I consider most to be bad.

A fantastic system for solo RPG and now my favorite group TTRPG. The system is elegant, easy to learn and has narrative depth. It got my imagination going.

Download the free PDF, now! You will soon realize the quality and craftsmanship of this creation is worth paying for the physical books. Built to be played solo (with other variants), this is perfect for these crazy pandemic/quarantined times when gaming with others is more difficult.

I am not an OG (Original Gamer), but I am pretty close. My first experience with D&D came in 1977 where I grew up 50 miles from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. My first many Gen Cons were at the old Milwaukee Mecca. Everything was bright and shiny and new. Life interceded from time to time, as it tends to do, but I was never very far outside the Gaming Community. I guess mainly because my twin brother grew up to be a part-time game designer. All this qualification is made largely to show that today was not my first rodeo. But I missed 'Ironsworn' until recently; the last number of months. In my case anyway, at least one great thing did come out of 2020 and Pandemerica. That thing is 'Ironsworn'. The most influential rpg I have come across in decades. Period. Thank you for your time. SB Bauer

So there is this part of RPG gaming where you are walking around with a character in your head, imagining what he would do next, or his origin story, or whatever. And if you are lucky you get to take that character to your gaming group and bring him out for a few hours. But as often as not your don't have a stable gaming group or if you do your character doesn't get to land on the table, or not for long enough, so he lives in your head, mostly unfulfilled.

So this is a game where you get to play with that character in your head, whenever you want. Where there is no difference between your head canon and when you are rolling dice, because it's all the same.

I feel like I may be talking crazy, so let me just say: You made an awesome game, and you should feel awesome.

This is fantastic! I've read through most of the PDF, and as a technical writer, I can appreciate the effort you put into this. I found your work to be top-notch, clear, and organized. The layout is equally clear and attractive and easy to read with plenty of white space, diagrams, and examples. The photos are crisp and evoke the desired feeling for the settings.

Because you made this game freely available and took such obvious pride and effort in your work, and because this game, with its simple pbta mechanics, is just AWESOME, I decided to support you by purchasing the physical books and the cards, including the Delve book. (And note that I rarely purchase print materials from this site.)

Anyway, I've enjoyed solo roleplaying ever since the old Lone Wolf game book series, and Ironsworn is something I'm looking forward to trying by myself as well as the co-op mode with my family. Thank you and keep up the good work! You've earned a new fan.

(By the way, I heard about this game by following a reference on https://www.rpgsolo.com/forum/Thread-Classic-Fantasy-Thieves-A-Roses-Wyght-Story to http://www.playeveryrole.com/ and that's where I saw this reference to Ironsworn http://www.playeveryrole.com/?p=472.)

Ironsworn feels like the natural evolution of ideas presented in Powered by the Apocalypse and Forged in the Dark games. It takes what makes Apocalypse World and Blades in the Dark, and the innumerable games that they have inspired, and further refines their philosophy of play and design.

Ironsworn learns a lot from its predecessors, both in terms of overall design but also in terms of how to explain the intent of that design, and how to play the game effectively. Its simple, approachable mechanics are wonderful and quick to pick up, but the better part of Ironsworn's design is how explicitly it explains those mechanics to you. "Moves" are more clearly defined than in the PbtA and FitD games, as are the majority of the consequences for failing those moves. And gone are the somewhat vague rulings on how to fill a progress clock (replaced by progress tracks in Ironsworn, which do ultimately serve a different function but operate mechanically similarly).

It's still fiction first, as its predecessors are. But it has done a better job of marrying system and fiction in a way that not a lot of games have, and that alone makes it a standout. Add to the fact that the complete PDF is free to download, and it's an absolute steal, and you're really doing yourself a disservice if you don't at least read the book.

Its simple, evocative assets, its loosely defined by thematically rich setting, and its elegant mechanical design make Ironsworn a must-play for anyone remotely interested in the "rules light" or "story game" genre of tabletop role-playing games.

Amazing game. Great for solo world building and adventuring. The hardcover is a real work of art as well.

I don't have a ton of time into the game, but what time I do have has been a lot of fun. Over the past couple of months getting groups together has been even more difficult than it usually is anyway, so I haven't gotten to play RPGs like I want to. This completely solves that problem. I can play by myself without too much hassle and I also get more creative control over what happens.

When you build your character and decide what its inciting incident is, you can really set the tone for how your adventure will go. One of my favorite moments in the two sessions I've had so far was when I managed to pass one check and them immediately failed on the follow-up, which ended up resulting in my character swearing another epic vow. And when I managed to fail the roll to actually swear a vow, the complication I ended up with added more flavor and an interesting twist. Starting out, I found it difficult to come up with consequences of roll successes and failures without rolling on the Oracles, but in a short time I have been able to quickly come up with stuff that makes sense and gives me interesting choices that I can't necessarily plan for.

This game is extremely well done and I definitely recommend it to anybody who wants to give solo TTRPG-ing a try when they can't get a group together.

Excellent game for playing solo. The rules help you interpret the dice results.