The Magister Saga Vol. 1 Links
Welcome to Part One of Session 0 for our first game of Ironsworn. In this session we will build our Ironlander from scratch, following the Character Creation Summary on page 47 of the Ironsworn rulebook, with help from the Oracles for names, locations, and the like on pages 174-190. This segment of our game will establish character and background in preparation for Session 1.
A note on this character creation activity: This character build is largely randomized, letting the dice decide. We like to live up to our name!
Dice Rolls
Rolling the dice, we discover that our character's name is Jaggar Kova. Now to determine a few things about Jaggar's character.
Dice Rolls
Jaggar Kova is a dangerous and wary, but generous, Ironlander. This tells me that Kova is a warrior of some skill. He is cautious, not one given to risky behavior, nor quick to trust. However, despite all of these things, he would be quick to come to the aid of those who are in danger or are in need of help of some kind. Jaggar is a blacksmith by trade.
Let us roll the dice once more to determine Jaggar Kova's starting location. This will help us begin to craft his background vow and inciting incident.
Dice Rolls
Jaggar's story will begin at his home village of Olgar's Stand on the Ragged Coast. The village is built beside a large salt water marsh, the site of a flooded battlefield. The village is named after its founding hero, Olgar Tallus, who fell defending his home from rampaging raiders over a century and a half ago.
Up first, we choose a Path for Jaggar: Since we have determined that Jaggar is a blacksmith (via the Character Role roll above), I am going to select Wright as his first asset.
His second asset should probably be a combat talent. As a blacksmith, Jaggar is surely familiar with all manner of Ironlander weaponry. Any of the weapons-based combat talents would fit his character. But, since he is a blacksmith of some skill, I think giving him the rare sword would be interesting. This sword is one of his own forging and has been with him through the many battles he has fought in service to his clan. This leads us to his third, and final, asset: Veteran.
Finally, we can assign points to each of Jaggar's stats: Edge, Heart, Iron, Shadow, and Wits. I have opted to go with the alternate stat array presented in the Lodestar Reference Guide (4,3,3,2,2). Since Jaggar is a swordsman and a veteran of many battles, I think Iron (close combat, feats of strength) will be his highest stat at 4. Heart (social interaction, courage) and Wits (observation, intuition) will follow at 3 each, and Edge (speed, agility, and ranged attacks) and Shadow (stealth, deception, cunning) will each take 2 points. Jaggar is neither a devious sort, nor does his size allow for much stealth. He is a direct fellow and prefers to meet his problems head on.
In the next Session 0 post (part 2), we will finish up the creation of our character with Bonds, a Background Vow, and the Inciting Incident for his story. Until next time...
RESOURCES
Ironsworn RPG by Shawn Tomkin, available at www.ironswornrpg.com
Ironsworn Lodestar: A Reference Guide for the Ironsworn RPG by Shawn Tomkin, available at DriveThruRPG.com
Iron Journal by Nick Boughton, available at www.nboughton.uk/apps
