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.

My whole experience has been playing this game solo and I can't recommend this game enough. I've literally recomend it to everyone I know that plays RPGs! I'm not always a fan of this kind of setting, but the system is clean and inviting and allows for a great deal of creativity.

This is now my gold standard for Rule Book writting and editorial design. The best part is After 27 pages the game says, "go play and come back when you need to clarify something" and it's true, you really can! That's something much needed in all RPG rule books.

If you're looking for a system that works perfectly for a play-by-post game, Ironsworn is it. It's the perfect mix of a stroytelling system but with streamlined dice mechanics for conflict resolution. Combat doesn't take a half-hour of dice rolling and checking charts, which amounts to days worth of posts in a message board setting. Ironsworn is elegant and expansive and so easy to import adventures from other systems that I don't think I'll need any other rules set for a long time, if ever. As a solo playing newbie, I've had no issues running Ironsworn for myself thanks to the GM emulation built into the system. It has quickly become my favorite game to play.

As an added bonus, it's quarantine compatible for all viruses and apocalypses.

Have the print edition. Well organised, good art direction..plus the game itself is an evocative, creative and inventive rpg. I especially like how it facilitates solo play, but great for all sorts of stuff. Definitely recommended if you like solo play or enjoy fitd or pbta games.

I can't believe this is FREE. This is a perfect child of PbtA and Mythic Solo RPG systems that grew up to be a beast of its own making. The progress track is a solid mechanic that wonderfully abstracts the complexities of typical RPG systems to make solo play fluid and fun.

I was a D&D player since the 80's, and never thought any game would unseat it as my "default" game, but Ironsworn has done just that. Elegant, smart, atmospheric and flexible. Ironsworn is the high water mark of the Apocalypse Engine games and the vanguard of a whole new wave of refreshing takes on tabletop RPGs.

Swear the Iron Vow. You won't regret it.