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)

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

Scaling Up Ironsworn, Part 1: Stat and Asset Coverage

Welcome to Part 1 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 Scaling Problem #1: Broad Stat And Asset Coverage

With more players, the party has a broader spread of stats and more total Assets. There are only five basic stats in Ironsworn (Edge, Heart, Iron, Shadow, and Wits). With five players, you can have someone with each of those as their best stat, leaving the party with no obvious weaknesses. Even with just two players, you can arrange things so each PC's high or middle stats cover the other PC's low stats. If you usually have the player with the best stat and assets for the current situation make the Move, they will succeed much more often than a solo PC or smaller group would. More successes means more Momentum gets generated, which then helps mitigate the misses that do get rolled. Misses on action rolls can become rare enough to make the story predictable and leave players feeling unchallenged.

Here's how to adjust for and challenge a party with broad competence:

• Be strict about interpreting which stats and assets can be used for any given move. Don’t let a player roll with their best stat and asset bonuses unless it definitely makes sense in the narrative. Don’t let them weasel their way into things like, “Yeah, I’m dodging the blaster fire, but I’m doing it smartly, so I’m gonna roll Wits instead of Edge, because my Wits is higher."
• Create situations where each player has to make their own roll. For example, "Oh no, the cave we’re in is about to collapse, we all need to Face Danger +Edge to get out in time"
• Create situations where a PC is forced to roll with one of their weaker stats or can't leverage their best stat.
• Create situations where more than one Move is required to accomplish a task. More rolls means more chances that someone will fail and suffer a consequence. Scene Challenges are great for this, but you can also just zoom in on a task and break it into two or three steps or add a complication.
• Don't be afraid to split the party or create situations where PC who would be best at the task is unavailable or otherwise occupied.
• Agree as a group to occasionally take turns rolling, even if it isn't "optimal". For example, on Expeditions, take turns being the Expedition leader and making the Undertake an Expedition Move, instead of having the player with the highest bonus always roll.

On the flip side of having broad coverage, you might also have to deal with...

Smaller Problem #1: Overlapping Builds

Ironsworn characters are already broadly competent by default. With only five core stats, each one covers a variety of situations. In a large party, it is easy to end up with two PCs who are both equally good at something because they put their highest bonus in the same stat for different reasons. For example, one player wants to be a scout or explorer, while the other wants to be a healer. Since Undertake a Journey/Expedition and Heal both rely on the Wits stat, both players might choose Wits as their top stat (though with different Assets to help them specialize in their chosen area). Then, when it comes time to Gather Information, which also runs on Wits, both PCs have the same bonus. Who gets to make the roll?

It's even worse when one player invests in a stat and a related Asset, but another player ends up just as good or even better at some of the same Moves. For example, in Ironsworn, a player with 2 Shadow and the Trickster Asset has the same chance to succeed at a Compel to deceive someone as the player who chose 3 Shadow but took different assets.

Overlapping builds don't break anything or make the game significantly harder, but they feel bad for two main reasons. One is that players may feel they "wasted" resources on being good at something that another PC has covered. The other is that players may feel like they're competing for spotlight time.

On the other hand, you might find that having builds which overlap a bit can be a benefit. It can give you coverage for when the PC with the best stat can't be the one to make a particular Move for some narrative reason. It's also fine if the area of overlap is something where multiple PCs can contribute, such as combat, especially if that type of challenge will come up frequently in your game. The other benefit of overlapping builds is that it can leave the party with a more obvious weakness (such as having nobody with high Shadow when you need to sneak around), which mitigates the problem of broad coverage discussed above and can create opportunities for fun challenges and drama.

Here's how to prevent issues with overlapping builds:

• Create your PCs as a group, so players can notice if their build is stepping on anyone's toes and change it before the game starts.
• Choose Assets that emphasize your strengths and align with your best stat(s), rather than shoring up your weaknesses.
• If two PCs end up with the same top stat, make sure they have Assets that differentiate them mechanically and background/personality differences to distinguish them narratively.
• If two PCs are equally good at a task, try to take turns with who handles it (especially Delve The Depths in Ironsworn and Undertake an Expedition in Starforged, since they offer a choice of which stat to use and you might roll them many times in one session) or give the spotlight to whoever hasn't gotten to roll in a while.

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 (<- you are here)
• Part 2: Resource Tracks and Aid Your Ally
• Part 3: Combat

Scaling Ironsworn and Starforged for Larger Groups

A common question about Ironsworn, Starforged, and related games is, "How does the game scale up to handle larger groups of players?" Often, the answer given is, "Not very well," but with little explanation for why or advice on how to deal with it. In this series of blog posts, I'll offer my own thoughts on why scaling is problem and what you can do to solve it. This first post is a broad overview of the issues at hand. Down below, you'll find links to the rest of the series.

Note: The analysis and advice here applies to Ironsworn, Starforged, and other Ironsworn-style games/hacks/supplements, but for brevity, I'll usually just say "Ironsworn" or "these games".

How many players is a "large group"?

Well, the sweet spot for Ironsworn, IMHO, is 1-3 player characters (with or without a Guide). 4 or 5 is manageable, but the scaling issues becomes more and more noticeable as you add PCs. I wouldn't recommend 6+ players unless you've got a fairly mature group and are definitely ready to deal with the challenges.

What are these "scaling issues" anyway?

From a narrative and meta-level perspective, larger groups may struggle with sharing the spotlight evenly. Playing solo, you have all the attention to yourself. Each player you add increases narrative complexity and makes it harder to ensure everyone stays equally engaged and gets to pursue their individual goals. However, these problems can be addressed with the same basic tools and skills that a GM/Guide/facilitator would use in any other RPG, even if you're playing co-op without a Guide. Because these problems aren't unique to Ironsworn-style games, I won't focus on them in this series, though I may return to the topic another time.

Mechanically, the main scaling issue is that the game gets massively easier as you add PCs. There are three big reasons for that (broad stat and asset coverage, more resource tracks to absorb consequences, and combat ending too quickly). Three other small problems you may run into are overlapping builds, Aid Your Ally spam, and handling combats where the party outnumbers their foes. Fortunately, you can address all of these issues without actually changing any rules, just by using the tools the game already offers. In future posts, I'll dig into each of these and suggest how to adjust your approach to handle them.

Before getting into all those details, though, it's worth mentioning that experiences and preferences will vary from group to group. Some players will want an easier game, while others would rather amp up the challenge and risk level. So, my single biggest suggestion is, talk to your group about how you want the game to feel, then adjust accordingly. This applies whether or not you're playing with a Guide. Communicate!

Links to the rest of the "Scaling Up Ironsworn" series:

• Part 1: Stat and Asset Coverage
• Part 2: Resource Tracks and Aid Your Ally
• Part 3: Combat