Tabletop Roleplaying Games
Ironsworn: Starforged
Ironsworn: Starforged is a science fiction tabletop roleplaying game of spacefaring quests for solo, co-op and guided play, designed by Shawn Tomkin and published by Tomkin Press. It is a sci-fi reinvention of Ironsworn, which won the 2019 ENNIE for Best Free Game, and it is described as more than a reskin. The Kickstarter campaign ran from 27 April to 27 May and raised $347,984 from 6,782 backers against a goal of $15,000. A retail release was slated for the fourth quarter of 2022 as a Deluxe Edition with a core rulebook of more than 400 pages, co-published by Absolute Tabletop with Modiphius Entertainment distributing to retail stores. A seafaring expansion, Sundered Isles, followed in 2024 and uses the Starforged system.
The system directly evolved from Ironsworn, and it was followed by the expansion Sundered Isles.
Description
Players take on spacefaring heroes who travel to unknown parts of the galaxy and undertake quests. Prior experience with Ironsworn is not required, and the game keeps the original's solo play, with Guided (a Game Master (GM) moderates), Co-op (no GM) and Solo modes. Guided setup exercises cover campaign truths, character creation and starting situations, and the book includes generation rules for ships, planets, settlements and people.
The game asks a table to build its own setting and story. The oracle tables suggest what happens, but the players decide what it means, and a solo player has to be comfortable playing both sides of the fiction. It suits groups and solo players who want a science fiction game with no preparation, more than groups who want a published setting and plot.