Solo, GMless, and other non-standard-model games

Hiya

So, I've recently upgraded my Ironsworn character from stats array "3,2,2,1,1" to "4,3,3,2,2" because I was getting so many setbacks that I started finding it hard to continue the story.

My character in my solo game has been on 0 supply for a while now and there's no real opportunity for him to sejourn atm. He's in the middle of something important. So he's either got to abandon his vow and sejourn, or keep going with the debility. And with the lower stats it just started being a drag because his spirit and health are fine.

I also don't feel like it's much fun to slowly kill him off when the rolls I'm failing are mostly progress rolls. (Like undertake a journey)

What's your opinion on the stat arrays?

I'm starting to feel like the supply really limits the story in a not so fun way. Or maybe I'm handling it wrong?

The Ironsworn Lodestar reference guide has rules for alternate stats.

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I had a character who ended up with two 4s (see the last line):

Those 4s broke the game and I ended up having to stop playing, it became boring.

I see, in the notes I copied that table from, that I also had a 'Grim' statline listed as a possibility for starting. I remember thinking about using that a few times but found the base statline to be better each time.

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If it becomes unfun, make any changes you need to make it fun. This is especially true in a solo game where you only have to answer to yourself, but also in a group game where you only have to answer to your group, it does not matter what the rules or the author says, they are not at your table.
The problem might be too much Paying the Price with Supply rather than the other two?

If the situation genuinely led to Supply being such a significant problem, then maybe there are story elements telling you that you need to make another plan? Come back better prepared?
Make sense. It is a Move that is deliberately limited in its availability.
That is the classic dilemma, no?

But if that is not fun anymore, then look a little harder and you may find somewhere you can Sojourn? How do you know there is no opportunity?
Progress roll failures are related to two numbers, maybe focus on getting the Progress value up rather than upping your stats?

While you can not use Momentum on the Progress roll itself, you can use it on the rolls to Make Progress (It has been a while so don't quote me, and look up the actual Move names yourself, I may get them wrong:).

An extra Make Progress will do more for your passing the Progress roll than upping your stats (unless you are setting very hard quests, in which case you need to Make Progress a few more times), and will not throw all the other mechanics out of whack.

Upping your stats will help you Make Progress faster, but at what cost?
As mentioned, Lodestar has alternate stats. I was interested in the Grim lines, but never actually played with them (for long) finding the default stat array to be about right.

The fact that they exist, means people are wanting alternatives, so you are not alone and should not feel bad. Try it and see if it works for you.

Don't be too attached to this character or their current quest, maybe take a break and try another character with other stats and other situations for a while to see if you could have handled things differently? You can always come back.
Hitting 0 on any of your 'health bars' is a big deal. I don't think this is Supply's fault, specifically. The fact that you let your Supply get so low that you ended up in a desperate situation means you may have to back off, go home, and resupply and try again.

This does not necessarily mean you have to abandon the quest, though. See if you can find a way to justify returning home and trying again, wiser this time.

Delve has rules from leaving and returning to a Site. Look to see if they can help you.


Spreading the Damage around so none of your bars hit 0 and cause a Debility (is that the right term?), is a great help. If you do end up a Debility, that is significant to the story and warrants great cost.

Even if you do 'fail your quest', don't you have the option to pick it up again, harder and more serious?

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Honestly, were it me, I would just engineer some way to Sojourn and fix the Out of Supply problem. You can do this in character --your character is also trying to fix this, after all-- or just deus ex machina it.

Either way it might cost you something. Maybe just time, maybe they (whoever you find to help) demand a price, complicate the situation, or reveal an unwelcome truth about what you are doing.

I think I may not have been clear enough on this. I always try to get my progress up to at least 8 before completing the 'progress bar', it's getting to that higher value that's the issue.
I kept getting misses on my rolls that up the progress bar value. So no progress was made, and on top of that you pay the price.
Yes, that's where I found the 4,3,3,2,2 stat line. :)
I do agree that a +4 stat seems to be a bit on the high side, though. With a few bonuses, you can score an 11 or 12 on a roll. Which is a bit silly. Maybe I'll tweak it a bit more and go for something like 3,3,2,2,1. I think that would already help greatly.
I definitely tried to do that, but at some point my supply went down to 1 (I think my health and spirit were at 3 at that time, so I picked to lower supply instead) and then I failed 2 resupply moves, after which a different move made me use supply.

I think I could squeeze in a sejourn move, the biggest issue I have with that move is "when you spend time...". Can this be just one night? Is this move interchangeable with "make camp" when not in the wilds? There's a pretty urgent vow I'm working on and time is not a luxury the character has right now.

I got myself into this mess, so I'll have to figure out how to get myself out :)
Thanks for the help!

Cool. While it is not the problem you describe later, it can still help to get that even higher.

At 8 (with that +4) there is still like a 30% chance of some failure, at 10 that drops to 10% with only 1% chance of all out failure.
Momentum can help with those. It often pays to focus on getting the Momentum up --dealing with the background incidentals of your journey or life-- before making the Moves that matter. This need not take more time in game, there is often plenty going on that we gloss over.
Wow, I don't remember it being that high. I did not check Lodestar again after running into trouble since I did not use it, my stat went up during play.
Spoiled the game for me. I would not do it again.

I notice that Starforged has removed the Assets that allow for these stat increases, and I think I agree with that decision.
Except that:
So there is always that one in ten chance of a miss on each dice.
Try it. See how it works. You can (in theory) always go back.

We tend to struggle with being generous to ourselves in places where we would easily have given such things to our players.
That could be the story telling you that you are in dire straights and need to change your course?

By the in-world fiction you are out of supply and that is slowing you down, making you less likely to succeed at your rescue. Stubbornly sticking to that, rather than trying to remedy your immediate issue, could cost you the prize. It may be hard for your character to realise this, but could make for a story and could prove a benefit in the end and allow you to succeed at your Vow. Obviously I don't know if there is anything in your Vow that precludes your taking a breather, ("I will not rest till ..." or something), but empowering yourself to finish is in service of the Vow.
To rest and get some supplies? I would say yes. That seems perfectly correct by the fiction. If you had to heal a broken leg or something then it would take weeks; if you were exhausted --drained of body and mind-- then it would take days; since it is a supply issue it could even be a matter of hours.

Check the detailed description and examples of the Move in the book to confirm, but that is how I would rule it unless otherwise stated. I look at the fiction and take it from there, and that timing works, no?
I would need to read the specifics, but I don't think so. But I don't think it is about time. I could even see Sojourn taking less time than Make Camp in some circumstance? Make Camp is always 'overnight', right?
Fixing the Supply problem may save you time in the long-run. But it is natural to not see that with a character's mission-focused-tunnel-vision. It may be hard for them to admit they need help.