Pre-game discussions

[Vladim]

13 hours ago, Cairo said:

I wonder how Ironsworn would work if one held back on the world truths for as long as possible and just started off with a rough definition of "genre" and a strong opening premise..

That sounds good to me. I am already running an Ironsworn game in Middle-Earth that's quasi-coop (and a solo Ironsworn that's historical-ish). I care about the lore and consistency in both those settings, but it can get a bit tiring to preserve them well... So, for a change of pace, I would be more than happy with something more open-ended and relaxed, without any deep lore or history that I might contradict. We can make stuff up as we go along, although it would be better to have matching preferences when it comes to things such as genre and so on.

Indeed, I sometimes think that setting cannon and deep lore can hold players back or be intimidating.

6 hours ago, Delorphin said:

I’ve been meaning to try out some collaborative fiction lately as well.

I feel the interesting thing with trying to start with a blank canvas world is that by virtue of creating characters, it’s starts to veer off into its own thing since they can’t really exist in a vacuum. @Vladim, is there any specific amount of detail you think is good for the characters? Like starting with a relatively plain character to preserve a generic fantasy setting that can cheer off in any direction vs. starting with a character that already forces the world into a certain type of setting from the start.

I felt like the best way to go about this is for interested parties to at least introduce themselves in the application thread, and share a bit about their experience, the narratives and settings and genres and characters they like to play and so on. It's more important to me to have people with compatible preferences than fully fledged out character ideas.

In fact, some games offer collaborative character creation, and I like that idea-more often than not in conventional games, players submit characters independent of one another and end up caring deeply for their own PC, but less so for the others. I'd like to tackle that if I could-and I would certainly welcome input from other players on my character(s).

[Wizard of the Coat]

Hi Vlad, just wanted to drop a quick line to say I've been wanting to play a no-GM game for some time. I've never played Ironsworn, but I like rules-lite story-focused systems, and I like what I've read of Ironsworn.

I'm wondering...

1. What's the time frame for a possible game start?

2. The game ad doesn't close for another (nearly) three months. Is that because you are envisioning multiple games?

3. Will this forum house one or more games or is this a clearing house for players to find each other and then go off and create their own game forums?

4. Will you "select" players or will players self-select into the game(s) via conversation in this forum (i.e. about their setting interests, playing styles, posting rates or other criteria)?

[Vladim]

5 hours ago, Wizard of the Coat said:

Hi Vlad, just wanted to drop a quick line to say I've been wanting to play a no-GM game for some time. I've never played Ironsworn, but I like rules-lite story-focused systems, and I like what I've read of Ironsworn.

I'm wondering...

1. What's the time frame for a possible game start?

2. The game ad doesn't close for another (nearly) three months. Is that because you are envisioning multiple games?

3. Will this forum house one or more games or is this a clearing house for players to find each other and then go off and create their own game forums?

4. Will you "select" players or will players self-select into the game(s) via conversation in this forum (i.e. about their setting interests, playing styles, posting rates or other criteria)?

1. I don't have one personally-but I am happy for people to use this forum to team up (even if this doesn't include me) and start games at their convenience. I am personally not in a hurry, and also can be patient for a few months (I am probably in more games than I should be at the moment).

2. Yeah, the three months deadline is arbitrary. I actually wouldn't mind it being permanently open, if there is interest.

3. I don't have any opinion-both work, and both have their advantages, so I'd leave the choice to the games' respective players.

4. More the latter-I hate top-down selection (especially for co-op games) and would rather be inclusive over exclusive.

Hope this makes it clearer!

[Vladim]

5 hours ago, Wizard of the Coat said:

Game Ideas:

• I'd like an Odyssey themed game. A band of warriors returning home, survivors of some great war they fought and lost in a far away land. Such a game could explore heavy themes: the realities of war, the longing for home and family, the travel into the unknown world....

This seems cool to me! Perhaps combined with the archipelago idea of the setting that you mentioned (e.g. Shattered Isles from core Ironsworn / Iron Lands). Anyone else interested?

[Wizard of the Coat]

I'd obviously be interested!

Could you point me in the direction of the whatever supplement details the Shattered Isles? The free Ironsworn rulebook has a paragraph about the Barrier Islands scattered along the southwest of the peninsula. Was that what you were referring to?

[Vladim]

27 minutes ago, Wizard of the Coat said:

I'd obviously be interested!

Could you point me in the direction of the whatever supplement details the Shattered Isles? The free Ironsworn rulebook has a paragraph about the Barrier Islands scattered along the southwest of the peninsula. Was that what you were referring to?

Ah, you are right, I should have written Barrier Isles.

The creator of Ironsworn is working on a naval supplement called Shattered Isles that's either soon to be released or just released (I am not entirely sure). But I don't have it, so I don't think we need to use it.

[Wizard of the Coat]

I went down a Google rabbit hole and discovered the following.

The project was renamed "Sundered Isles." The latest kickstarter update says the PDF release was coming in February, but that didn't happen. One of the levels of support for the kickstarter provided an unofficial (not yet finished) version of the product that was delivered some time around December. In that product, if you role randomly (Consult the Oracle?) for the origins of the Sundered Isles setting, one of the options is:

Quote

A great war left horrible scars on the isles. A generations-old war has only recently ended, and the reminders of that fruitless conflict are all around us: islands wracked by destruction, seas tainted, people displaced. The cost is immeasurable, but some still squabble over what remains. War it seems never changes.

That sounds like a good fit. I think it would be an interesting twist if the war culminated in some cataclysm that quite literally sundered the lands, forming or dramatically altering the archipelago. This would mean that the way home is not as easy for the PCs as "retracing their steps", and that they would have increased uncertainty about the home that might be waiting for them.

[Vladim]

12 hours ago, Wizard of the Coat said:

That sounds like a good fit. I think it would be an interesting twist if the war culminated in some cataclysm that quite literally sundered the lands, forming or dramatically altering the archipelago. This would mean that the way home is not as easy for the PCs as "retracing their steps", and that they would have increased uncertainty about the home that might be waiting for them.

I'm good with that. Perhaps we could work it into a good opening premise (or, as core Ironsworn defines it, an Inciting Incident) and go from there. For a gritty, low-magic feel, perhaps core Ironsworn fits even better than Vaults & Vows, but I am not too fussed. I am open to the idea of either and happy to defer to other players.

For now, I'll wait patiently to see if anyone else is interested-I'd rather have a minimum of three or four players to try this with (myself included, so another 2-3). Duets are not bad but they have a different feel, and 5 may make things too crowded in Ironsworn. Of course, other interested parties should also approve-ideally, everyone should be happy to play with everyone else before even starting.

[Wizard of the Coat]

11 hours ago, Vladim said:

I'd rather have a minimum of three or four players

I agree. Three players minimum. Four players would be ideal. Five would be the upper limit.

[I say this having never played Ironsworn. I'm just basing this on PbP constraints.]

[Cairo]

I'm still following the proceedings, however inspiration continues to elude me. It's great to see that you're zeroing in on something interesting though!

[TheObsoleteMan]

Hello all! I've been away from the Weave for a while due to some physical and mental ailments. But I'm slowly working my way back to the things I enjoy, RPGs chief among them. I've had several aborted attempts at joining @Vladim's games in the past, but I've always had to bow out for one reason or another. Ironsworn is one of the top systems on my (very long) list of TBP games--To Be Played. If you all don't mind, I'd love to throw my hat in the ring as well. If not, no problem, and would love to read along with what you guys come up with. Thanks!

[Delorphin]

16 hours ago, Wizard of the Coat said:

I agree. Three players minimum. Four players would be ideal. Five would be the upper limit.

If you two don't mind, I'd be happy to join the game as well.

[Vladim]

2 hours ago, TheObsoleteMan said:

Hello all! I've been away from the Weave for a while due to some physical and mental ailments. But I'm slowly working my way back to the things I enjoy, RPGs chief among them. I've had several aborted attempts at joining @Vladim's games in the past, but I've always had to bow out for one reason or another. Ironsworn is one of the top systems on my (very long) list of TBP games--To Be Played. If you all don't mind, I'd love to throw my hat in the ring as well. If not, no problem, and would love to read along with what you guys come up with. Thanks!

I'm good with it. I am an Ironsworn fan, so I am more than happy to introduce others to the system. It's not too difficult to learn it, though, so honestly I don't think I need to do too much :)

If you are interested, I'd be happy to try. We are hopefully starting with a more relaxed posting rate, so it shouldn't be a huge commitment to begin with. Glad to hear you're on the mend, though!

5 minutes ago, Delorphin said:

If you two don't mind, I'd be happy to join the game as well.

I'm happy to, so I'll wait and see what the others say @TheObsoleteMan and @Wizard of the Coat

If everyone's on board, that's 4 of us-which should be a good number to start with. So I am happy to slowly move towards discussing more specifics and see if we can't come up with something that will be interesting to everyone.

[Wizard of the Coat]

3 hours ago, Vladim said:

I'm happy to, so I'll wait and see what the others say @TheObsoleteMan and @Wizard of the Coat

It's fine by me. If we've got four, let's start talking about our game!

Should we create a separate topic (thread) to talk specifically about our game, and leave this topic as a general topic for future arrivals interested in finding a game?

Also, I'd like to raise one concern....

Do the four of us have summer schedules that will allow for our intended "relaxed" posting rate? I've seen many MW games die when summer comes--as players take turns announcing that they'll be on vacation or a road trip or a campout or.... I'd prefer not to start something in the next month or so if it's going to be put on hold through most of summer and die a slow death.

[Delorphin]

1 hour ago, Wizard of the Coat said:

Should we create a separate topic (thread) to talk specifically about our game, and leave this topic as a general topic for future arrivals interested in finding a game?

That's a good question, do we join the game as members as well?

1 hour ago, Wizard of the Coat said:

Do the four of us have summer schedules that will allow for our intended "relaxed" posting rate?

I'm actually going into winter right now so that isn't a concern for me.