A PERILOUS GALAXY AWAITS
WHAT'S INCLUDED
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Story-driven mechanics to put your character at the center of their quest-driven adventures.
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Inspiring campaign launch exercises to build your setting, create your character, and set off into a universe of perils and opportunities.
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Creative prompts to eliminate game prep and push your adventures forward—with or without a GM.
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Generators for on-the-fly discoveries of spaceborne locations, planets, settlements, people, creatures, starships, foreboding derelicts, ancient alien vaults, and more!
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Extensive advice, examples, and options for exploring the story of your characters and their fateful vows.
In Ironsworn: Starforged, you are a spaceborne hero sworn to undertake perilous quests. You will explore uncharted space, unravel the secrets of a mysterious galaxy, and build bonds with those you meet on your travels. Most importantly, you will swear iron vows and see them fulfilled—no matter the cost.
Starforged is a standalone follow-up to the Ironsworn tabletop roleplaying game. Experience with Ironsworn is not required to play. Starforged builds on Ironsworn's award-winning innovations to chart a path into an exciting new frontier.
Starforged was successfully funded on Kickstarter by 6,700 backers, and is now available in digital and printed editions.
THREE WAYS TO PLAY
Ironsworn's acclaimed game modes return in Starforged. Whether you are playing with friends or facing a perilous galaxy on your own, you'll have full support for exciting, no-prep gameplay.
GUIDED
One or more players take the role of their characters, while a guide moderates the session.
CO-OP
You and one or more friends play together to overcome challenges and complete quests. A guide is not required.
SOLO
You portray a lone character driven to fulfill vows in a dangerous world. Good luck!
Your Character
Your character is composed of stats and trackers, managed through your character sheet. These elements help you determine the outcome when you perform risky actions.
As you complete quests, make discoveries, and form bonds, you gain experience. You spend this experience to add assets—vehicles, modules, paths, and companions—which deepen your abilities and options.
Character creation is fast and flexible, with a guided exercise to help define your background, resources, expertise, and goals.
Art by Joshua Meehan.
Icon and asset design by Nathen Græy.
WELCOME TO THE FORGE
Your adventures are set within the Forge. This is a globular cluster in orbit around your people's home galaxy. Vast clouds of interstellar nebula span the depths of the Forge, interspersed with denser clouds of vibrant interplanetary dust and strange energies. It is a chaotic galaxy wracked by fiery stellar storms and unpredictable gravitational currents. The planets and stars of this place are born of that chaos.
Your people came to the Forge two centuries ago in the wake of a cataclysm in their home galaxy. Today, this new home offers opportunity and peril. Remnants of ancient civilizations hold dangerous knowledge and forbidden power. Your people build settlements on new worlds, but those places rarely offer a safe haven. Conflicts often rage between people and factions. Raiders and pirates prowl the spaceways in search of easy prey. Baneful creatures and dark forces dwell on corrupted planets and in the abyssal void between stars.
It's a dangerous life for anyone living on this frontier, and doubly so for the Ironsworn—those adventurers bound to sworn quests.
You can also ignore or adjust the default setting. The Starforged rules are flexible enough to accommodate many forms of perilous science fiction.
TONE AND INSPIRATION
The default tone for Starforged is gritty, human-centric science fiction on a perilous frontier. People cling to survival on inhospitable worlds and in remote space stations. Much has been forgotten or lost.
Inspiration comes from the quest-driven stories of The Mandalorian, the lived-in aesthetic and fantasy-infused trappings of the original Star Wars trilogy, the workaday exploits of Firefly, the isolated horror of Alien, the mysticism and faction politics of Dune, the retro-tech and desperation of Battlestar Galactica's modern reboot, the cosmic mysteries and class struggles of The Expanse, and the gonzo adventures and fantastic locations of Guardians of the Galaxy.
You are encouraged to make Starforged your own, and to bend the tone to your liking. Your universe will be unique because you’ll define aspects such as the history of your people, technology, communities, lifeforms, supernatural abilities, and more.
Art by Joshua Meehan.
What's NEw?
Are you a returning Ironsworn player? Welcome back! I really appreciate your ongoing support. Here's some highlights of what's changed from core Ironsworn.
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Board your starship: Travel through the galaxy in your interstellar ship, and customize it with support vehicles and modules.
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Build a legacy: An expanded experience system offers legacy rewards for quests, discoveries, and bonds.
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Explore the galaxy: Use the expedition moves to travel through perilous space, journey over unexplored terrain, and survey mysterious sites.
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Create lasting relationships: Use the connection moves to establish new relationships and work to cultivate those connections over time.
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Fight for what matters: Revised and flexible combat moves put the focus on action-oriented objectives.
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Keep flying: When you take a hit, use the damage and repair moves for your command ship, support vehicles, and mechanical companions.
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Ask the oracle: An incredible array of oracle tables to help inspire complications, opportunities, locations, people, settlements, creatures, starships, and more!
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Be who you want: More than 80 character assets for the sci-fi setting. If you loved Ironsworn's fast and flexible character creation, you'll find even more to love here.
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Make the universe your own: Guided exercises—including campaign truths, character creation, and starting situations—get your campaign off the launch pad.
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Stay safe: New session moves help ensure that everyone at the table can comfortably enjoy a fun and fulfilling experience.
And much more! Starforged is true to Ironsworn's roots, tuned to fit the spacefaring setting, while incorporating experience and feedback from years of development and play.
THE SYSTEM
MOMENTUM
Momentum is a special mechanic which is core to playing Starforged. You can gain momentum as an outcome or option when making moves. This represents securing advantages, acquiring new insight, and making progress in your quests. You lose momentum when you suffer a cost which causes a delay or puts you at a disadvantage.
You can use momentum to gain a decisive result — or avoid dire failure — on a critical move.
MOVES
In Starforged, moves help you decide what happens when you encounter something dangerous or uncertain. There is a move for most situations and challenges you will face. For solo and co-op play, these moves help resolve your actions and trigger new opportunities and complications to keep your story moving.
Ironsworn moves are inspired by the innovative, fiction-first mechanics of the Apocalypse World system created by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker.
THE ACTION ROLL
When you make a move representing a risky or uncertain action, roll three dice at once: An action die (D6) and two challenge dice (D10). Add your relevant stat and any bonuses to your action die. This is your action score. Then, compare your action score to each of the challenge dice and check for a strong hit, weak hit, or miss. The move will tell you how to interpret the result.
Strong Hit
Your action score beats (is greater than) both the challenge dice. You succeed at what you are trying to do.
Weak Hit
Your action score beats only one of the challenge dice. You succeed, but with a cost or lesser effect.
Miss
Your action score doesn't beat either challenge die. You fail, or must make serious concessions.
Did you roll a match on the challenge dice? If so, you encounter a surprising complication or opportunity.
ORACLES
Starforged Oracles help answer questions in solo or co-op games, or provide inspiration for the guide in guided play.
Starforged includes a full suite of moves and oracle prompts designed to lead your story in exciting and unexpected directions—with absolutely zero preparation.
THE ART
The Starforged rulebook is filled with amazing art by lead artist Joshua Meehan. It's inspirational fuel for your adventures in the Forge.
GET STARFORGED NOW
Ironsworn: Starforged is now available in a full-featured Digital Edition and as a richly illustrated print edition.
The Starforged family of products include a 404 page rulebook, a lay-flat wirebound reference guide, and a deck of 90 character asset cards.
COMING SOON
SUNDERED ISLES
An expansion of seafaring adventure for Ironsworn: Starforged
Prepare to set sail! The Sundered Isles is a realm of wind and tide, mariners and marauders, rebels and empires, myth and magic. This full-featured expansion for Ironsworn: Starforged offers a bounty of new gameplay options and tools.
Coming soon to Kickstarter. The prelaunch page is live now!
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