Scaling Up Ironsworn, Part 3: Combat

Welcome to Part 3 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 #3: Combat Is Over Too Fast

With more players, combat can end much too quickly. For example, a Formidable combat takes around 3 to 5 hits on Strike or Clash to fill up the progress track. For a solo player, that’s a decent challenge which will likely involve some back-and-forth as they gain and lose initiative. For a large group, that same combat might be over by the time each player has taken a single turn. Such short combats can be unsatisfying and anticlimactic.

The problem is made worse in combination with the scaling issues I discussed in earlier posts. Large groups will likely enter combat with their resources tracks mostly full and plenty of Momentum, unless they've been making the game harder for themselves. I've also noticed that most players prioritize having decent Iron or Edge, along with at least one combat Asset. That means parties rarely have anyone who is bad at combat.

All that can take combat, which should be dramatic and dangerous, and make it feel safe and unexciting. Fortunately, there are some simple adjustments you can use to bring back the fun.

Here's how to adjust combat so it lasts longer and feels more challenging:

• Choose higher rank enemies, whether tougher individuals or larger packs.
• In Ironsworn, fight multiple enemies with individual progress tracks.
• In Starforged, invent combat scenarios with multiple objectives, so there are more tracks to fill.
• Add more narrative complications that have to be dealt with, so it's harder for players to just Strike their way to a quick victory. For example, “Oh no, the enemy can fly, so you can’t get close enough to Strike +iron unless you do something about it first,” or “Oh no, that enemy is wearing a prototype powered armor suit which is impervious to small arms. You can’t Strike or Clash against it until you find a weakness or other solution.”
• When a PC rolls badly and ends up without Initiative or In A Bad Spot, don’t immediately turn the camera away to another PC. Instead, stay with the current player and have them Clash, Face Danger, or React Under Fire at least once before going to someone else’s turn. That way, they get to experience the consequences of their failure and maybe suffer further before there is a chance for the combat to end or an ally to come to their rescue.
• Realize that with more players, not every character needs to be good at combat. It's fine to specialize in other areas and not worry about "pulling your weight" in combat. In fact, a character who is particularly skilled at exploring, socializing, or solving problems in other ways can make a big difference by helping the party avoid combat in the first place or be more prepared for it when it does happen.

Small Problem #3: Narrating Combat When The Foes Are Outnumbered

This is really more of a narrative problem than a mechanical issue, but it's closely related to the rest of this post, so I felt like discussing it. (Plus, it rounded out the count of Big and Small problems for the series.)

When there are more PCs than enemies in a fight, it can be difficult to reconcile the mechanical outcomes of Moves with the narrative, particularly on failed rolls. The most common problem is when a PC rolls a Miss on a Strike from long range. If all the enemies are already engaged in melee with someone else, how do any of them threaten the PC who just missed? Per the rules, they should lose initiative / be in a bad spot, but there is no obvious danger for them to face with their next Move. Players may struggle to come up with a satisfying narrative resolution that doesn't make the shooter look incompetent or make enemies seem like they're teleporting across the battlefield to attack.

The fundamental issue is that it can be hard to envision how a single enemy can threaten multiple PCs at the same time. Honestly, this is one problem for which I'd say there is no perfect solution, but with a bit of creativity it can at least be mitigated much of the time.

Here are some ways to make combat more engaging when the foes are outnumbered:

• Make the terrain, environment, or battlefield itself a threat to the PCs by including rockslides, unstable platforms, collapsing ceilings, fire, storm winds, traps, automated security systems, and other such hazards.
• Give your enemies extreme size, unusually long reach, extra mobility, ranged attacks, area attacks, or other such advantages so they can threaten more of the party at once. For example, in a fight against a vampire, my party decided that he could summon and direct flocks of bats to attack from a distance.
• Consider the risk of friendly fire. A "threat" could be, "I can't safely attack the enemy until I get into a better position."
• Have key equipment break or malfunction. Re-stringing a bow, clearing a jammed rifle, or restarting the flux capacitor is much more difficult in the middle of combat.
• Introduce reinforcements or another new enemy as a way to Pay the Price, or avoid the problem in the first place by giving a major foe allies or minions. That eldritch horror has cultists. The dragon has a mate. Station security shows up, but they've already been bought out by the mob boss. Etc.

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

Part 3: Combat (<- you are here)