Ironsworn - Deshi the Healer: Session 0, World and Character creation

The World

Since this is my first session we start by establishing the truths of this world.

Bear in mind the 'Truths' in an Ironsworn playthrough arn't necessarily absolute truths, rather the things everyone believes to be true. There is scope to adapt or replace a 'truth', and discovering evidence that those commonly held 'truths' might not tell the whole story might make a nice story hook.

The Ironlands

Credit to Kiero_PL on the Ironsworn subreddit for the below map image.

In my Ironlands the first landings were in the northern stretches of the Ragged Coast, so those are reasonably populated with village communities which become gradually more scarce as you travel south. The Ragged Coast is the 'centre' of human population in the Ironlands at this time.

There are few settlements but a number of hunting camps on the Hinterlands, fading into the southern reaches of the Tempest Hills. 

The Havens are just starting to be populated from the north, but while the land is flat and with potential for half-decent farmlands it is currently untamed and dangerous, and progress is necessarily slow.

There is some exploratory mining in the upper reaches of the Tempest Hills but miners are forced to return to the lower regions come winter or be trapped without the resources to survive. The Veiled Mountains are the territory of the giants. There have been expeditions but no one has attempted to settle or mine in the area.

The Deep Wilds are unexplored. Those who have ventured further than half a day's travel into the forest do not return. Wise Ironlanders go around.

The Old World

The old world was swept by a terrible plague which killed all in its path. Our best medicines and most effective rituals barely slowed it down. What was left of civilisation was forced to flee onto ships and cross the ocean, not knowing whether there was another land within reach or if we would die adrift upon the seas.

It is two generations since this migration, so the plague is no longer fresh in the minds of the inhabitants but some of those who fled the old world still survive, and their warnings are still passed on. Those who survived the journey passed the Barrier Islands and landed on the Ragged Coast near the borders with the Hinterlands and Deep Wilds. All humans on the Ironlands have spread from this landing point.

Iron

Unknown Iron pillars are found throughout the land. They have gained a certain ritual significance with the settlers but none know their real purpose. They are often found at the centre of communities, which tend to grow up around them.

They are often used by those called to the path of the Ironsworn in the swearing or affirmation of Iron vows.

Legacies

As far as we can tell, we are the first humans to walk these lands. There is no sign of human civilisation discovering the Ironlands before the great flight over the ocean to escape the plague.

Communities

We live in communities called Circles. Some of these are as small as a single steading, others can consist of several villages and outlying settlements connected by well-trodden roads. The largest circles are concentrated in the northern end of the Ragged Coast.

Leaders

Leadership model varies by community, especially once you're off of the main trade routes.

The largest settlements on the coastline or at the estuaries of major rivers tend to be big enough to self-govern.

Circles that encompass multiple villages tend to have a local overseer in each settlement who meets with their peers in other settlements as a kind of council. Other high profile citizens may also be part of these councils.

There are settlements, particularly in more remote areas, where leadership is more military in nature. There are also communities based around worship of a particular god or spirit that follow a theocratic model and are governed by a high priest or religious council. One you're off the beaten path all things are possible.

Defense

Larger centres of population, chiefly the coastal settlements, have Wardens who stand sentry and patrol the surrounding lands. Free Wardens and mercenaries sometimes sign-on to protect caravans and expeditions.

The further you get from there, the less likely you are to find uniformed protectors and more likely to find local militia who are activated when needed.

The same applies to law and order. The justice of the Wardens is recognised throughout the Ironlands, but most places outside the main trade routes will only see the occasional Free Warden and local overseers are accustomed to dealing with local criminal behaviour using whatever resources are at hand.

Mysticism

Magic is rare and dangerous, but there are some gifted among the humans.

Stories say that those gifted in magic in the old world felt the change in magics as they entered the Ironlands. The old world magics flowed from life and growth, while the magics of the Ironlands are altogether darker as though a different set of spirits are responding to the summons of magic users in this land. A lot of the old rituals no longer work, and much hard-won knowledge seems to have become useless.

In the old world magic users tended to be the community Healers and Herbalists as their magics allowed them to supplement their herbal remedies with healing rituals, and their connection to nature spirits helped them find and cultivate healing herbs.

In the Ironlands those sensitive to magic are often apprenticed to the community healer out of lingering tradition. However this practice is starting to disappear as healers are realising they are better off selecting among those with a drive to help others and an affinity for herbalism.

The loss of the old rituals means many of those who feel a magical connection don't have a way of utilising it.

Religion

The people honour old gods and new. In this harsh land a prayer is a simple but powerful comfort.

Firstborn

The firstborn effectively control the regions they inhabit - the Elves the Deep Wilds and the Giants the Veiled Mountains. They have tolerated humans as long as they don't infringe on those areas. Small communities are starting to spring up on the borders and cause tension, particularly along the Deep Wilds where the Elves are feeling distinctly more threatened by human proliferation than the Giants in their mountain homes.

Beasts

Beasts stalk the wild areas of the Ironlands. They are occasionally seen in the settled areas but the Wardens and nearby communities respond quickly to any threat, either by organising a militia or posting a bounty and sending word that they have need of assistance.

There is a market for monster slayers, often mercenaries who have chosen to specialise, who make a living traveling the outer communities and collecting bounties on troublesome beasts.

Horrors

The darkest forests, wildest mountain areas and the dangerous Flooded Lands region are known to harbour supernatural beasts and horrors. They sometimes seem to spawn at the site of particularly violent or horrific acts as though drawn to the echoes of the event. Most Ironlanders can go their whole lives without encountering one, but the odds are greater in some areas than others.

On certain nights of the year the scattered communities of the Ironlands variously light huge fires, perform warding rituals or just stay indoors and bar their dwellings. On these nights the reach of the supernatual seems to extend across the whole land, regardless of how civilised it has become.

 

 

Character creation

Background

Name: Deshi

Home community: Nabuma

Deshi is a Healer in his local village community. Age early 30s. He has a knowledge of plants, herbs and disease and his drive is to help people and heal the sick.

He wears a travel cloak with hood and carries a quarterstaff and sling. As an able-bodied community member he is expected to participate in the defense of the community where required and as a healer he often needs to venture out alone to gather herbs and supplies, so he's particularly competent with the staff and trains with the other village militia to keep his skills sharp.

As a healer he does have a connection with magic, and has access to one of the few rituals which still seems to have carried over from the old world.

Background Vow: Heal the Ironlands. Deshi feels deep down that the horrors, the hostility of the land to humans, the nature of the magic all point to some deep wound in the land itself, and if only it could be healed we would see it returned to something like the old world.

Stats

Edge: 2

Heart: 3

Iron: 1

Shadow: 1

Wits: 2

Starting Assets

Long-Arm (combat): If you wield a staff... In your hands the humble staff is a deadly weapon (2 harm). When you instead use it as a simple weapon (1 harm), you may Strike or Clash +edge (instead of Iron). If you do, add +1 and take +1 momentum on a hit.

Herbalist (path): When you attempt to Heal using herbal remedies, and you have at least +1 supply, choose one (decide before rolling)

• Add +2
• On a hit, take or give an additional +1 health
  

Tether (ritual): When you commune with the spirits of a place, roll +heart. If you share a bond with someone there, add +1. On a strong hit, you are tethered.
When you Undertake a Journey to return, you may roll +spirit or +heart (instead of +wits), and take +1 momentum on a hit. When you Reach Your Destination, take +2 momentum on a strong hit.
The tether is lost if you perform this ritual elsewhere, or when you Face Desolation.
On a weak hit, as above, but the spirits reveal a disturbing aspect of the place; Endure Stress (2 stress).

Family

Brother

Name: Artiga
Descriptors: Quirky, Curious
Role: Guide
Goal: Prove Worthiness

Artiga is a navigator on a ship that works the trade routes up and down the Ragged Coast and between the mainland and the Barrier Islands. He wants to captain his own ship one day.

Background Bonds

• Nabuma (place)
• Eir (goddess of protection/help/mercy) 
• Artiga (brother)

Notes

I rolled pre-game and got a success on Tether, so Deshi starts the game tethered to Nabuma.

There are no named gods in the Ironlands, so Eir is taken from Viking lore. There's no mechanical bonus to having a bond with a god or spirit, but from a fiction point of view this might manifest as an occasional Secure and Advantage roll by offering up prayer or Tribute to Eir when the character needs guidance or help on healing tasks, and opens up the option of picking up the Devotant path asset somewhere down the line if the character develops in that direction.

Sometimes the Oracles just seem to line up. When Deshi's brother was assigned the 'Guide' role after I'd already picked out the Tether asset for Deshi, it seemed like a lovely symmetry that his sibling might have some vestigial ability to always know which direction was home without ever really knowing why, and that this might manifest itself as an unexplained affinity for navigation.