Introduction

Greetings Dear Reader,

This is a solo journaling playthrough of the table top roleplaying game Ironsworn. I am a busy dad with three kids, and my goal with this project is to give myself something fun and creative to unwind with at the end of the day. The escapism ain’t bad either.

A blog named Wayfarer Stories inspired me to begin this project. I enjoy how goldwhyn, the author, mixes in asides containing his interpretations of the game’s rules and how they affected his storytelling. I aim to recreate that experience by playing the game and generating a story that satisfies me, and hopefully you, too, Dear Reader.

How I Play and Write

I have seen two approaches to playing Ironsworn solo. The first approach, which I believe is used in Wayfarer Stories, is to make dice rolls, interpret the results, and immediately write the story’s prose. The other approach is to create a play log first and write the prose later. The play log records a game session’s dice rolls and interpretations as short notes. Later, the play log gets turned into full prose.

I am using the “play log to prose” approach. This lets me enjoy playing the game and quickly moving forward through the story. It is just too much fun to see what happens next. Then, I come back and write the prose, one chapter at a time, giving each one the time it needs.

Sometimes when I’m writing the prose, I come up with new story ideas or see new links I missed while playing the game. When this happens, I change the play log. I will move bullet points around or add new dice rolls. I stick roughly to the original “intent” of the dice, but my ultimate goal is to create a good story. I am not treating the play log as gospel. If I want to mix it up, I do.

Doom Loop Avoidance Plan

Ironsworn is a brutal game. Maybe a little too brutal for me. The first time I played it, my character went through an absolutely harrowing ordeal. I (the player) was not ready for it. It was my first time playing the game, and I was used to lighter game systems. Each time my character suffered a setback, I became a little more dispirited, and eventually, frustrated as the dice relentlessly damned my character. I think this happened for several reasons:

• I was still learning the mechanics of the game.
• I would often follow up bad news with yet another move, which in my experience, can lead you into a doom loop.
• I played late at night, tired from work and kids, when my judgement was not its sharpest. In that state, I would sometimes make mechanically bad decisions for my character.

I want to avoid the doom loop this time around.

When the doom loop kicks in, the game stops being fun for me. However, there is a balancing act to be made here. I like the brutal setting, and I do not want to treat my character like a Mary Sue. I want bad things, maybe even really bad things, to happen to my character, I just don’t want them to happen every. single. time. he turns around. What I need is a plan.

• When using the Pay the Price move, I will allow myself to choose “Make the most obvious negative outcome happen,” but make the negative outcome narrative instead of mechanical. Something bad happens, but it will not immediately cost Health, Spirit, Momentum, or Supply. When conceiving of “the most obvious negative outcome,” I will allow myself to not immediately make it “the most horrible negative outcome” possible. I may start with lighter consequences and escalate if follow up rolls seem to demand it.
• I will “just say no” to the dice if I feel like they are derailing my fun. Whenever this happens, I will ask myself if I really want to keep playing, or if I want to call it quits for the night. When I find myself thinking no! no! no! a doom loop is probably kicking in. I may have a preconceived notion of where the story should go that I am having trouble letting go of, or I may be rushing through the story too quickly. I probably need to go get some sleep and continue another day.

Promises

• I will not use any AI in this project. Everything will be written from my imagination. Any artwork will be drawn by me.
• I will strive to follow the dice where they take me.
• I will use the rules as written. I will not change stats, bonuses, or die sizes.

I think that pretty well covers it. Let’s get started.