The First City: An Ironsworn Actual Play (Session 3)
An arduous journey to Timberwall
A very dangerous encounter. In the previous session, Lucia and Pendry were attacked by an elder beast of legend—a giant bear who was fended off at last by the mysterious ravens of the forest. After suffering grievous injuries, Pendry lies on the brink of death. Can Lucia bring him to Timberwall in time to save his life?
Welcome back to The First City! This is an actual play of the Ironsworn TTRPG.
New to the series? Check out the introduction.
For an in-depth guide to the story, see the reference guide.
Characters
Lucia: A young woman living alone in the Havens. Despite her resentment of Ironland society, she has sworn a vow to travel to a nearby town in an attempt to save Pendry’s life.
Pendry: A young man who stumbled into Lucia while running around lost in the woods. After surviving a bear attack and falling into a ravine, he is gravely wounded and on the brink of death.
Player Character Sheet
In the previous session, Lucia gained 1 point of Momentum and lost 1 point of Health. She also gained a new vow: Bring Pendry home alive to Timberwall.
Lucia of the Havens
Experience: 0
Edge: 2 | Heart: 3 | Iron: 1 | Shadow: 1 | Wits: 2
Health: +4 | Spirit: +1 | Supply: +5
Momentum: +2
Debilities: None
Bonds: 0
Assets
Archer
Abilities:
[X|_|_]Fated
Abilities:
[X|_|_]Hound
Name: Kormak
Health: +4
Abilities:
[_|_|X]LoyalVows
Found the first city of the Ironlands
Rank: epic
Progress: 0/10
Bring Pendry home alive to Timberwall
Rank: dangerous
Progress: 0/10
Gameplay
With Pendry gravely injured from a fall, Lucia has vowed to take him to his home in Timberwall, a town a few miles away from the forest where Lucia and Pendry are.
The Havens are a dangerous place to be alone at night—a pitiless land where vicious creatures and ruthless bandits are a constant threat. Lucia doesn’t want to leave Pendry alone and vulnerable while she goes to get help—especially now that it’s begun to snow.
Luckily, Pendry is fairly light, and although Lucia is bruised and tired from climbing down the ravine to reach him, she’s able to lift him onto her back and carry him.
Unfortunately, the two of them are completely lost. Lucia has never been in this part of the forest before and doesn’t know how to get out.
Reaching back into her memories, Lucia tries to recall the advice her mother gave her when she was young about how to find her way out of the forest.
Gather Information
(ask questions)
[4] + Wits(2) = 6 >>> <8> <9>
MISSPay the Price
Lucia’s tiredness, in addition to the biting cold, make it impossible for her to focus or remember anything worthwhile.
Momentum: +2 ==> +1
At a loss as to what to do, Lucia decides to just start walking and hope for the best. She notices a slight incline in the ground and starts walking up it, hoping that it will lead her out of the ravine and onto more familiar ground.
As she walks, the incline gets gradually steeper until finally, she reaches a large mound of earth, boulders, and fallen trees sloped against the side of the ravine.
Gathering her strength and tightening her hold on Pendry, she starts to scramble up the slope.
Face Danger
(attempt something risky with strength)
[2] + Iron(1) = 3 >>> <1> <4>
WEAK HITHealth: +4 ==> +3
Endure Harm
(face physical damage)
[3] + Health(3) = 6 >>> <3> <10>
WEAK HIT
Exhausted from stumbling over the uneven ground and hands numb from scrabbling across a fresh layer of snow, Lucia makes it to the top of the slope with Pendry in tow.
With tremendous relief, she realizes that she recognizes where she is and knows how to leave the forest from here.
Now, she and Pendry must make the miles-long trek to Timberwall.
Undertake a Journey
(travel across hazardous lands)
[4] + Wits(2) = 6 >>> <5> <9>
WEAK HITLucia and Pendry emerge from the forest. Lucia had to leave behind Pendry’s pack as it was too tiring to carry both him and all their things.
Journey to Timberwall (dangerous): 0/10 ==> 2/10
Supply: +5 ==> +4
Reach a Milestone
(make significant progress in your quest)
Bring Pendry home alive to Timberwall (vow, dangerous): 0/10 ==> 2/10
Undertake a Journey (continued)
[5] + Wits(2) = 7 >>> <1> <8>
WEAK HITLucia and Pendry reach the river. The crossing would have been difficult enough with both of them in a healthy condition. With Pendry in the state he’s in, making their way across might be impossible. Lucia empties half of her pack by the side of the river to prevent it from weighing her down as she and Pendry attempt to cross.
Journey to Timberwall (dangerous): 2/10 ==> 4/10
Supply: +4 ==> +3
Reach a Milestone
(make significant progress in your quest)
Bring Pendry home alive to Timberwall (vow, dangerous): 2/10 ==> 4/10
Undertake a Journey (continued)
[4] + Wits(2) = 6 >>> <5> <7>
WEAK HITLucia is able to cross the river with Pendry falling in and out of consciousness on her back. The water is freezing cold and, at its midpoint, reaches halfway up her chest. A strong current nearly knocks Lucia over and manages to sweep her pack off her shoulder and away downriver.
Journey to Timberwall (dangerous): 4/10 ==> 6/10
Supply: +3 ==> +2
Health: +3 ==> +2
Endure Harm
(face physical damage from a demanding effort)
[1] + Health(2) = 3 >>> <5> <6>
MISSMomentum: +1 ==> 0
Reach a Milestone
(make significant progress in your quest)
Bring Pendry home alive to Timberwall (vow, dangerous): 4/10 ==> 6/10
Undertake a Journey (continued)
[6] + Wits(2) = 8 >>> <6> <8>
WEAK HITLucia and Pendry draw closer to their destination. In the early dawn light, Lucia spots a pack of hyenas in the distance stalking the two travelers. Gently laying Pendry down on the ground, she draws her bow and fires an arrow in the hyenas’ direction to scare them off. In the state they’re in, the two can’t afford to be ambushed by a pack of hungry animals.
Although the warning shot scatters most of the pack, a particularly large and fierce hyena begins to charge1 the two humans. Acting quickly, Lucia fires off several more arrows, piercing the creature until it falls dead. It’s at this moment that she realizes she’s run out of arrows and that she and Pendry are defenseless until they reach Timberwall.
Journey to Timberwall (dangerous): 6/10 ==> 8/10
Supply: +2 ==> +1
Reach a Milestone
(make significant progress in your quest)
Bring Pendry home alive to Timberwall (vow, dangerous): 6/10 ==> 8/10
Undertake a Journey (continued)
[4] + Wits(2) = 6 >>> <2> <2>
STRONG HIT + MATCHLucia and Pendry finally arrive within sight of Timberwall. In the distance, they see the town’s strong gate and wooden walls. Unfortunately, they also see the pack of hyenas from earlier, who have regrouped and appear hungry for revenge.
Injured and exhausted, the two travelers have no chance of reaching Timberwall’s gate before the hyenas are able to intercept them.
As Lucia’s hope fades, she hears a familiar barking, far off but quickly coming closer. Turning her head, she sees her hound Kormak sprinting in her direction. She had left the dog at home the previous day when she went to hunt in the forest, but her lifelong friend has always had an uncanny knack for being able to find her.
Journey to Timberwall (dangerous): 8/10 ==> 10/10
Match effect: We got our dog back!2
Kormak sprints past Lucia and Pendry toward the pack of hyenas. The creatures run away in fear of the large, angry hound.
After routing the hyenas, Kormak circles back toward Lucia and Pendry.
After a joyful reunion with Lucia, Kormak accompanies the two humans to the town gate.
Reach Your Destination
(a journey comes to an end)
Journey Progress = 10 >>> <2> <6>
STRONG HITHeartened by reaching the end of her arduous journey and being reunited with her beloved dog, Lucia’s spirits rise as she, Pendry, and Kormak approach Timberwall.
Momentum: 0 ==> +1
Reach a Milestone
(make significant progress in your quest)
Bring Pendry home alive to Timberwall (vow, dangerous): 8/10 ==> 10/10
As the three get closer to the gate, Lucia notices the anxious faces of town guards peering over the wooden wall.
One of the guards spots the three, points, and cries out. Almost immediately, the massive gate swings open as town guards rush out toward the travelers.
Lucia is confused by the commotion, but she overhears some of the guards exclaiming, “Master Pendros!”
Before Lucia can react, the guards take Pendry from her, carefully laying him on a wooden stretcher that’s been hurriedly brought out.
As the guards carry Pendry through the gateway into town, Lucia is unceremoniously pushed in after him.
Commentary
Whew, what a ride! That journey was rough. We lost a lot of Supply, Health, and Momentum. I’m a bit worried that I’m being too hard on our character in terms of applying mechanical consequences, but I do want this game to be challenging. We can always ease up if things start to look too dire and hopeless.
Challenge Progress
For our Quest Starter challenge, we need to incorporate into our narrative every Quest Starter associated with our truths and starting Ironlands region.
We made no new progress in this session.
[X]1: The Old World - During character creation, we described Lucia as having Skulde ancestry and being ostracized by Ironland society as a result.[ ]2: Iron[ ]3: Legacies[ ]4: Communities[X]5: Leaders - During character creation, we said that Lucia is haunted by dreams of a wondrous city, and we defined her background vow as being to found the first city of the Ironlands.[ ]6: Defense[ ]7: Mysticism[ ]8: Religion[ ]9: Firstborn[ ]10: Beasts[ ]11: Horrors[ ]12: The Havens
Coming Up Next
In session 4, we’ll enter the town of Timberwall, learn more about Pendry’s identity, and see what fate has in store for Lucia.
I don’t know if this is realistic hyena behavior, but I just can’t be bothered to research that right now. Let’s just say that this is realistic Ironland hyena behavior.
Kormak is Lucia’s Hound companion asset that we picked during character creation. Until now, he’s been separated from Lucia, but with him by Lucia’s side, we’ll be able to use his asset abilities.
Another fun one!
I would consider retroactively making rescuing Pendry a vow and get some xp for it.
I'm really enjoying this. Please keep it going.