This character build for the #CharacterCreationChallenge uses the Ironsworn RPG, resulting in our ship’s captain – Hedda.

Hedda Bolgeloper is captain of The Shearwater, a fishing boat out of Garnar on the Ragged Coast of the Ironlands. She was raised to the sea by her father but, one day he set out to fish a dangerous shoal – the village was in dire straits and he took it upon himself to feed them – and never returned.

Hedda set out to try to find him, but only found the wreckage of his boat – clear signs of an attack by some terrible creature of the Deep. She has vowed to someday find the beast that killed him and exact her revenge.

Hedda is her father’s child. She has a strong bond to her people and will do anything to protect them. She considers it her duty to see that every man, woman, and child goes to sleep at night with a full belly.

She and her friend Njord head out in The Shearwater before dawn each day to entice the fish off the Ragged Coast into their nets, keeping an eye out for raiders at all times.

But the people of the Ragged Coast often find themselves hard-pressed and Hedda will do whatever she can to ensure they are safe – from the wilds, the First Born, and the raiders from across the sea. Smart, brave, and strong, she will outsmart her enemies or wade into battle with anything that comes to hand.

Ironsworn

It’s hard to know where to start with this RPG.

It is SO different from everything else I have looked at. In a good way.

Character creation is exceedingly simple from a stats point of view. There are five stats and you have a 3,2,2,1,1 array to distribute. Your Health, Spirit, Supply, and Momentum are provided for you as a starting point.

Simple.

The beauty of this RPG comes with the Bonds (which don’t end up on your character sheet) and Vows. The game is very much driven by vows that your character (or your party) make and strive to accomplish. This puts the game squarely in the hands of the players.

What have you vowed to accomplish?

The rules are written so that you can play without a GM. You can play a cooperative game with other players or solo. In either case, you can use the included Oracle rules to make decisions that you would typically rely on a GM for.

Magic is… well, it’s not really part of the rules, per se, but it’s clear magic in your world is supported. It seems like the Moves you can use to handle challenges can be interpreted to support spells. Clearly something I’ll have to read more about before I attempt to bring it to a table.

Of course, since it supports solo play well, this is an easy one to try out. And I will.

Grab a copy of Ironsworn and try it out. Let me know what you think. The vibe is awesome – viking raiders and fjords; elves and icy forests. Low (or no) magic, as you wish. And a very character-focused RPG.