Welcome to the Ironlands

Greetings to all and let me start by saying Thank you for reading this blog. If you are here it’s probably because you are interested in the Ironsworn RPG. You are in the right place. Before I get started on my adventures in the Ironlands I thought it would be fun to take a little time to introduce a little about the game, my goals and of course myself.

This blog is dedicated to my adventure in the Ironlands though hopefully this will evolve over time. I don’t intend to write a blog strictly for myself to enjoy. This is for the people. So if you happen to be a person, who is following the blog I highly encourage you to participate. Send feedback, comments or any other suggestions. I take criticism very well and look forward to improving this experience for the readers and listener.

I have a simple primary goal for this blog. For the most part I hope to provide interesting stories based on my experience playing the Ironsworn RPG. I personally enjoy interesting blogs and podcasts about my favorite hobbies and when I presented this idea to a small group of people within the Ironsworn Facebook group I was met with much enthusiasm, encouragement and excitement to see this put together.

Ironsworn is very narrative driven game and because of that I am highly interested in the narrative. Most folks, including myself, are very new to this game, because it's a pretty new game in general. I will stride to also provide game mechanics within the narrative. Hopefully this may help others or even myself understand the game better and continue to grow the community of Ironlanders. As mentioned before I highly encourage my followers to participate and comment on my interpretation of the game rules. If you think I may be playing incorrectly lets start a dialogue.

Above all my goal for this podcast and blog is to have fun. This is a RPG that I have been very excited about since my discovery and I look forward to sharing my experiences with others.

Since folks might be spending a lot of time listening to me or reading my blog why not get to know me a little more. My name is Heather Jay, I’m 34 years old, born and raised in Wichita Ks. I have always enjoyed RPG games and specifically the narrative of these types of games. I really get into the narrative and the role playing of role playing games.... Like really get into it.

By night I am a professional magician. I’ve been performing magic for the last decade and studied since the age of 10. Entreating is my passion in life and I have followed my dream to perform magic professionally. I’m not getting rich but I love what I do.

As a professional magician I typically only work on the weekends in the evenings. Magic just isn't that exciting at two in the afternoon on a Wednesday apparently. With that said I spend a lot of my day time during the week in isolation. Most of my friends have normal nine to five jobs so I look for ways to fill my leisure time. RPG games seem to satisfy this need. Unfortunately RPGs often require several people and this is the reason I love Ironsworn. This game was designed to be able to play solo.

My experience in RPG gaming comes mostly from D&D (Dungeons & Dragons), generally speaking my experience in D&D comes mostly from DMing (Dungeon Mastering). I love the game but... The prep work, and amount of time that game requires is so taxing. I won't abandon D&D but sometimes that game can be a whole lifestyle. For a more casual gamer like myself it's just not a good fit.

As a casual gamer I like to be able to pick up and drop off. This is what I think is the most exciting quality of the Ironsworn RPG. I feel like I don’t have to be dedicated for hours on end in order to feel like I've played. I can stop when I like. Oftentimes in the game play it's very easy to find places to stop so you can pick up later.

During the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic, I found myself with a lot more free time on my hands. Being a professional magician part of the job requires a large audiences all packed into one place. That came to a screeching halt in March of 2020. I was also hosting a weekly D&D session at the time and the party decided they wanted to stop meeting in person to be cautious of the virus. We tried playing online and it just didn’t work for us. So our party disbanded. With this time I began researching Solo and GM less (games that do not require a GM or game master) RPGs. Something that I could play alone or easily with just my boyfriend and I. That's when the gods smiled upon me and at drivtrurpg.com I found Ironsworn. From the moment I read the core rule book I was in love and I started playing immediately.

I’m not a game critic and my goal of this blog isn’t really to discuss all the details of the game rules and mechanics but in summary Ironsworn is a tabletop rpg that can be played in multiple formats and is open to many game settings. The game can be played GMless (with out a game master), solo or even guided with a GM. What makes this significant is most RPGs require a GM; furthermore many of them require several people to play. I don’t know if you’ve ever played D&D with two people but it's not exciting. For some time I looked for an option to play with just my boyfriend and I in our spare time together. We don’t share many hobbies together, but RPGs seem to resonate with the both of us. This is why I am so excited about Ironsworn. Two people can play this game with no gm, very minimal or even no prep work and have just as fun as a full six person party in other RPGs.

I look forward to more blogs to come and sharing my experiences in the Ironlands with you. Thank you for reading and may your hits ever be strong.

Find out more about Ironsworn at ironswornrpg.com and follow my Facebook and Twitter @criticalheather for updates on blogs, podcasts, and other content.