Scaling Up Ironsworn, Part 2: Resource Tracks and Aid Your Ally

Welcome to Part 2 of my series on Scaling Up Ironsworn. In this post, I'll address one big issue and one smaller related problem you might run into when playing Ironsworn, Starforged, or similar games with a larger group of players. You can find the intro and overview for this topic in my earlier post here. Links to the rest of the series are at the bottom.

Big Problem #2: More Resource Tracks To Absorb Consequences 

With more players, the party can take more punishment in total, because each PC has their own Health, Spirit, and Momentum tracks. A solo PC has a total of 15 points of Health + Spirit + Supply, while a party of three PCs has 35 points instead. If damage is spread around fairly evenly, it can take a lot more failures before anyone is at risk of running out and taking a Condition like Wounded or Shaken. This is the opposite of the common issue solo players face where they are too harsh on themselves and deplete their resources tracks too quickly, thus making Ironsworn much deadlier than it was meant to be. Instead, in a large party, it can feel like nobody is every really in danger. On top of that, recovery is easier, both because of Big Problem #1 above and because some recovery Moves like Sojourn and Make Camp scale with the number of PCs. 

Here's how to adjust for the larger resource pool of large parties:

• When someone needs to Pay The Price, lean toward hitting their Health or Spirit (especially in combat), and hitting it hard, rather than letting them get away with just a small Momentum loss or merely a narrative downbeat. (Yes, this is the opposite of the standard "stop hitting yourself so hard" advice given for solo games.)
• Alternatively, target shared tracks such as Supply and ship Integrity to hit the whole party. By adjusting how often you suffer direct hits to different tracks, you can tweak the difficulty to your liking.
• Limit the use of recovery Moves to when they are definitely justified in the narrative, and introduce obstacles and complications which may prevent recovery Moves until they are dealt with. For example, a character who lost Health due to poison or disease might need to seek out a specific antidote or cure before they can recover Health via Heal or Sojourn. 

Small Problem #2: Aid Your Ally Spam

When a PC is about to make a risky Move, a natural impulse is for other players to want to help. Aid Your Ally is a great Move to let another character share the spotlight and generate some Momentum or a bonus to the main roll. However, it can get out of hand. If players roll Aid Your Ally before almost every move, and especially if multiple players do so, the added bonuses and Momentum can make failure much rarer. This compounds with the previously discussed issue of broad stat and Asset coverage, since players will usually try to Aid with their best stat if at all possible. Additionally, the extra rolls can slow down the game, especially if the players need extra time to brainstorm a way to Aid before every roll.

Here are some ways to combat Aid Your Ally spam:

• Set a limit (1 or 2 is good) on how many PCs can Aid before the main Move is made. Even if multiple PCs are assisting narratively, just have the PC who is best suited to it make the Aid roll, unless each contributing PC is helping out in a meaningfully different way.
  
• Be strict about narratively justifying how the PC is helping. Ask the player to be specific, and make sure the stat they want to use makes sense. "I'll roll with Heart to cheer them on!" is fine and sometimes valid, but doesn't work in every situation. "I'll just roll the same stat as them because I'm helping," is too vague. How are you helping?
• If nobody can come up with an obvious way to help, just make the main roll and move on.
  
• Enforce the consequences for a failed Aid roll. They usually shouldn't be as large as if you failed at the main Move, but a small Momentum loss, narrative downbeat, or minor complication can be good. Don't just say, "Oops, guess I didn't help that much."

Conclusion and Links

I hope you find this analysis and advice helpful in your own Ironsworn games. For more on this topic, just follow the links:

• Intro and Overview for this series
• Part 1: Stat and Asset Coverage
• Part 2: Resource Tracks and Aid Your Ally (<- you are here)
• Part 3: Combat