Currentbound, Issue One: A Thorn in the Side, Part 0

(Content Warning: Language, Violence including People and Animals, Child in Traumatic Situation)

Sometime last year, I started an Ironsworn Solo game on a Discord I'm a member of.  There were several goals, there.  I wanted to try out the system for myself.  This was my first time ever Solo Roleplaying, so I wanted to see how that would go too.  I wanted to show the system to my friends and, at the same time, since we do a lot of roleplaying in that group, I wanted to increase the RPG traffic there.  So, I did a fair amount of explaining the system along with roleplaying it.  Keep in mind here that I was still learning it myself.  Apologies ahead of time for getting anything wrong.  The way I went about it was writing the narrative normally but putting the mechanics (like dice rolls) in spoilers.  I'll probably just differentiate the two here with differently formatted text.  Once we get going, it'll flow a little more smoothly, but at first, with the explaining and set up, I'm going to copy over posts without the responses, so it may be choppy for a minute.  This first post will just focus on the setup and creating my version of the Ironlands.  If you want to skip that and get right into the story, that'll be the next post.

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Conceptualization

So, the game gives you a rough outline of "The Ironlands" if you want to use it as your setting.  You can make your own.  I'm going to use the Ironlands.  What's neat is that you can kind of shuffle things around to suit your narrative.  Few things set in stone.  You'll see what I mean as we progress.

[I then described the Regions as they're laid out in the book, with the bulletpoints.]

I'm going to be from the Barrier Islands and I thought I'd start on the Coast.

I had in mind a character who was a deep sea diver.  Maybe someone who dove for pearls.

I had this kind of idea about magic flowing through the world, through water mostly.

But it was just kind of in the back of my head as I wondered about how my character might interact with inland waters.

The thing about river pearls makes that more exciting, I think.

So, the game asks you to build your world around your character or build your character around your world, based on your preference and your starting ideas.

I didn't have the diver islander idea til I read the descriptions for the Islands and the Coast.

So I'm starting with the World.

And then I'll build the Character.

Game prompts you with several "Truths" about your world.  If you were in a group, you'd decide these together.  I'm ambivalent about a lot of these. [I'm not now, I love this stuff and want to include it in most of the ttrpgs I play.]

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World Truths

Plague, Mysterious Pillars, First Humans, Sparsely Populated, Warbands under Varied Leadership, Atheistic, Beasts Common, Horrors are undead fae.

I love the idea that the Pillars might be like little islands of Sanctuary from the horrible things that go bump in the night.

Extend that idea and make Iron in general anathema to such creatures.  It's a ward against ghosts, it harms horrors, etc.

But, like, even the Firstborn can't remember how the pillars got there.

[Friends and I collectively decide on an Iron Cult that hangs out at the Pillars and travels between them.]

[Here's what I ultimately decided, follow along in the Truths book:
Old World Option 2
Iron Option 3
Legacies Option 1
Communities Option 1
Leaders Option 1
Defense Option 3
Mysticism Option 3
Religion Option 1

Firstborn: Firstborn and Ironlanders hold a tenuous peace based on mutual respect and cultural curiousity.  Firstborn wield considerably more raw power but Ironlanders possess far more numbers in terms of population, so neither side wants to tip that precarious balance.
Beasts Option 3
Horrors: In the dark of night, in the depths of the sea, in the hearts of the woods, and wombs of the earth, there are beings of unknowable age, strange ideas, and most alarmingly, interest in us. They quail at the sight of the Pillars, and shy away from our sick, but watch us, seek us, and peer into our minds and dreams. They give gifts and boons, and demand others in return for purposes beyond our understanding or our desire to understand.

Notes: Magic flows through the Waters of the World.

The Pillars are not in any arrangement a normal person can discern.

Folks will bring their sick and dying to the Pillars and their Cultists as a last resort in the hope of healing them.  This is not always effective but it has been known to work in the past.]

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Character Gen

[What follows is a lengthy discussion about names and then someone asked about the Iron Vows, so I explained them as I understood them.]

[I chose the name Koavarr because it means Warrior Warrior.  Thanks to google translate for that gem.]

[I explained the stats and how they are described.]

Gotta put an Array of 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 in them.

I see Koavarr as a badass.  Able to hold his breath for an extraordinary amount of time, super strong swimmer out in the water every day, a hunter, a warrior (x2)

So Iron 3

[Friend suggests 2 Heart because he swims in the water every day with god knows what and isn't afraid of anything.]

Okay, agreed, and it follows that the other 2 goes in the other physical ability Edge.

It's not that he's dumb though.

He's just very straightforward.

And very focused.

[Explained Health, Spirit, Supply, and Momentum and set those values.]

So now I need to make a background vow.

"[...] a background vow to represent a primary motivation or ultimate goal. This vow is part of your character’s backstory."

I definitely want to do something with the magic river pearls...hmm.

They don't even have to be exclusive to rivers, tbh, because magic.

But what is my motivation for seeking them out, besides greed.

I think I'm going to come back to this.

Flesh out my bonds and whatnot first, see if that kicks up any ideas.

I'm going to go with 2 people and a Community that I have Background Bonds with.

And I'll just use the Oracle to see what they are.

Okay, so I met Tegan in a small village called Blackwick.  They were working at the only Inn, situated at a Crossroads, and the only place to stop and rest weary horses for miles around.  Tegan worked as a forager and stablehand, securing feed for the horses and taking care of them pretty much alone.  When I arrived in Blackwick, there were several angry mercenaries demanding answers about their dead horses from poor Tegan who, of course, had had no idea what caused the horses to become deceased.  After calming the men, Tegan and I investigated and found that the Innkeep was responsible.  He had been donating massive quantities of horse blood to a nearby Horror in exchange for the promise of wealth to aid his ailing Inn.

Okay, I don't want to make this one so much about something I did as an adventurer.  Mix it up a little.

When I very first made my way inland along the Ragged Coast, I learned that certain areas are labyrinthine and highly dangerous, filled with raiders and sea monsters waiting to take your water.  Some areas are unbroken wasteland for miles around high above the sea.  Others are impossible cliffs that wrap around ridiculous bays that claw at the land.  It's embarrassingly easy to get lost.  Or, at least, end up on the wrong side of a fjord a couple hundred times.  Luckily, or maybe...not so luckily, I'm not alone.  Trade caravans new to the area sometimes get lost too.  Fortunately for us both, Anunna exists and has taken pity on all our poor traveling souls.  When I met her, she guided myself and a lost caravan to the safety of the walled town of Stormridge.  She's blessed with an unerring sense of direction and what she calls "a connection with the earth."  She's also a wholly pleasant traveling companion.  And she offers her services as a Guide in the area for free.  All she wants in return is news of or, preferably, an actual physical magical silver flower that only grows by the light of the full moon.  She won't say what its for, except to say it is to help someone who is very ill.

Now for the Community.

Two Warbands vie for control of Lostbridge and its incredible cache of resources.  Thus far, neither has made an overt move on the other and the two armies stand at a stalemate, eyeing each other warily from opposite sides of the island.  One man, a diplomat called Ikram, has been trying to forge a peace between the two Warbands.  There was even talk (wild, crazy, revolutionary talk) about merging the two Warbands under one banner for the wealth and prosperity of all.  Until Ikram mysteriously up and disappeared.  Lot of finger pointing, saber rattling.  But Ikram had friends and allies who still wanted peace and they had coin and pretty words.  And, ultimately, I am a pretty good finder.  I did find him, by the way, on a nearby island in a cellar.  He went back to work the next day like nothing had happened.  As far as I know, though, the island is still split down the middle.

Oooh, there's a character descriptor oracle I missed.

Okay, well.  Tegan is Sociable, Successful, and Proud.  Kinda alters my view a little but I'm good with it, I think.  Anunna is Quiet, Charming, and Sociable.  Spot on.  Ikram wants to broker peace on Lostbridge between the two opposing Warbands, Quickdawn and the Mooncloaks.  Ikram is resourceful and stubborn but, unfortunately, he is also dying.

So that could go even more ways than I thought.

If I return to Lostbridge and there's peace, I could be welcome.

If one side has taken over but he's still around and included in the government, I could be welcome.

If he's not though, it depends on whether his friends are there.  Or whether his enemies are.

Gonna toss down some descriptors for Blackwick and Stormridge.

Blackwick is Dark and Remote.  Not precisely Abandoned but it sees far less traffic than it used to since the High Road was built.  Stormridge is Peaceful, Cold, and Protected.

I can see the way I did backgrounds isn't really intended for the game.  Think you're supposed to, like, choose a friend and family member from your home town rather than something you've encountered on an adventure already taking place.  It's fine, I'm keeping it, bc its cool and I like it.  And the game is handwavy about that kind of thing anyway.

[I get real finicky about the logistics of travel for some reason, noting how many POI I would have encountered, musing about how few other folks seem concerned with it, and ultimately decide that Koavarr missed the High Road completely in the dark and got lost immediately in the wilderness after Stormridge until he stumbled upon Blackwick.]

Vow

While diving off the coast of my home island, Mahopawa Cay, I discovered a trench.  Daring to go within, I found a world of undersea treasures including my greatest find to date...a sizable, perfect, magical pearl.  However, exposing the pearl had the unfortunate side effect of luring a leviathan into the trench.  I only survived its initial onslaught because it could not maneuver its massive girth into the opening.  It badly wounded me, though, and I feared I would die beneath those waves.  As it turned out, I would be rescued by a Primordial, a friendly sea spirit who knew my love and respect for the waters.  She drove the leviathan off in a fierce battle but was herself gravely wounded in the process.  We helped each other to the surface and to shore.  I would survive but it seemed her body would not.  So she transferred her spirit essence into the magic pearl I still clutched in my fist.  I have searched since that day for a way to restore her.  Were it not for her brave sacrifice, I might be one of the Sodden now.  I'll be damned if I let that go to waste.  I will honor her.  I will restore her to her former glory as a true spirit of nature.  This is my vow.

To back that up, I wear a corded necklace with the pearl inset into a piece of polished bone jewelry.  Every Iron Vow I take, I take with the Iron Coins of the realm (which have holes punched through the center, like yen) and I slide that coin onto my necklace until such time as that Vow is completed.

So my vows are a literal weight around my neck.

[I chose Waterborn, Sighted and Invoke as my Assets.  While my physical prowess is represented in my stats, I wanted the magic stuff to be represented here.]

Inciting Incident

Nobody's really sure what's going to happen to the Inn here in Blackwick.  Tegan says the Innkeep (we just can't stomach referring to the man by name) has a rich uncle who lives farther north.  He'll probably see to the estate.  We had tried to talk some sense into all those people...hell, it's not as though I stand for atrocities against animals...but they wouldn't listen.  I just want away from this place.

I think I need to be careful what I wish for.  A dirty, bedraggled little girl, covered head to toe in thin, bloody scratches as if she had fought her way through a thicket of thorns at a full sprint stumbles into view.  We rush to her side.  I catch her before she collapses on the cold, hard dirt.  The Inn may not have an owner, but it'll see some use yet.  We rush her inside.  I hear someone calling for the village healer.  I met her, before.  The quiet old crone had examined the dead horses.  I hope she is as adept with people.  The child does not look well.  The girl looks back and forth between Tegan and I, her eyes desperate and searching, almost wild.  Tegan tries to soothe her.  The girl does not find what she needs in Tegan.

Her eyes lock on mine.  She presses an Iron Coin into my palm.  I look down, surprised.  "Now, you have to," she says, almost pleading but trying to be strong and forceful.  "Save my parents.  Save my village.  Thornhill.  The Forest Spirit will not let them go.  It will kill them all.  Save them.  Swear it."  Her dirty, ragged nails were biting into the flesh of my hand.  I was more worried her teeth would crack under the strain of her grit.  More to calm her than anything else, I said, "I so swear it."  But I knew what it meant.  And as soon as she slept under the tender ministrations of the old healer, I donned what little armor I possessed, grabbed my spear, and set foot upon the road to Thornhill.

I rolled a Strong Hit on my Swear an Iron Vow Move here.  I gained +2 Momentum and "my next move is clear."

Next: Issue 1, Part I  (Content Warning: Language, Violence)