Quinn of Axeford (Ironsworn Actual Play - Session 11)

Ash Adler
1 day ago
9 min read

Ironsworn's art is great, even if I'm not a fan of its mechanics (yet)

This session was frustrating to play. Fun, too, but with ten rolls that came up as either weak hits or misses, half of which were 1 action score away from being a better result category, it seemed like everything I tried doing was futile. Granted, I did still make some decent progress towards the iron vow I'm focusing on despite that, and I was pleased with the dice setting me up for the conflict that I had been hoping for as the climax of this vow (because I was sure that I'd get at least some bad rolls on attempts at Gather Information; little did I know...), but I also ended up floundering around so much that felt compelled to just stop instead of continuing to chase a chance for some success. Maybe next time.

Quinn woke early, as usual, though it was difficult to tell from the constant gloom in the dense forest. He and the effigy climbed down from the tree they had used as shelter for the night and crept closer to the settlement, staying off of the main path and not entering the clearing. The sheer scale of Greatstead’s palisade was still a marvel to him, setting his mind whirling with imagining what the interior was like.

They made their way around, passing another guarded entrance similar to the first, before eventually coming to a sight that made Quinn stop in his tracks. On the opposite side from where he had first approached Greatstead, the clearing from the palisade was larger, and a veritable small village had been set up outside the wall. Two people sat huddled around a pot set over a campfire in front of a hide-covered tent. A large wooden cart turned onto its side formed a wall for a lean-to with a mud-plastered exterior, a donkey sleeping outside of it with its reins lashed to an axle. Next to that was another shelter made with a patchwork cloth draped over bulky supports. Somewhat separate from that cluster, a pair of debris huts had been made at the clearing’s edge, like larger versions of what Quinn had made in the secluded valley two nights earlier, with a trio of spear-bearing warriors sat on boxes around them, two of them seeming asleep, judging from their postures.

As before, Quinn commanded the effigy to wait behind before moving onto the road and approaching the camp.

Gather Information: 1 + 2 Wits = 3 vs 3/10 -> Miss

Supply: 2 – 1 = 1

Oracle 18 (Major Plot Twist): 46 = A true identity is revealed

The road took him to the cooking pair, a man and a woman. As he drew near, they looked in his direction and took grips on nearby implements.

"I mean no harm," Quinn said, hands raised. "I’ve come from Axeford, near a week’s travel towards the coast from here, but the guards told me no one unknown was being allowed into Greatstead. Lucky break that a new village has sprung up outside its walls, isn’t it?"

The pair turned their attention back to their cooking. The pot contained some thick, pasty gruel, giving off a sour smell that did not seem appetizing in the least to Quinn. Digging into his pack, Quinn retrieved some pickled vegetables and offered them to the pair.

The man snatched the offering aggressively, sniffed them, and took a testing bite. He grabbed a small knife and began cutting the vegetables to add them to the pot. "Never heard of Axeford," the man said gruffly, "but it must be a wonderful place if you’re willing to give away food like that. That kind of generosity can get someone robbed."

Face Danger: 5 + 3 Heart = 8 vs 5/8 -> Weak Hit

Momentum: 10 – 1 = 9

"My pack’s running low," Quinn said, squeezing it between his hands to emphasize how little he was carrying. "If sharing what little I have left can help me get into Greatstead to resupply, it’s worth giving up."

The man’s eyes lingered on Quinn’s pack for a moment, as if trying to assess if he was lying about how much he still had, before he finally said, "Well, good luck with that. We’ve been here longer than you’ve been on the road, and there’s no sign of that changing soon."

"This beast has been a problem for that long?" Quinn asked, surprised.

The woman let out a mocking huff. "A beast? Is that what you were told?"

"Seems like everyone has a different story about it," Quinn muttered in frustration. "My name’s Quinn, by the way."

"Tessa," the woman said, "and this lout’s Vigo."

"Do you know what’s really going on, then?"

They both shook their heads. "Just that whatever’s out there seems different from anything anyone here’s heard about," Vigo said. "I’ve got a friend inside that says the lockdown is because the guards don’t want to admit they don’t know what they’re dealing with."

Compel: 6 + 3 Heart = 9 vs 7/10 -> Weak Hit

Quinn scratched his head. "That’s…troubling. Is there anything else you can tell me about what’s going on?"

"What’s in it for us?" Tessa asked.

Quinn spread his hands. "I don’t have anything else to spare, but I’ll split what I can forage later today with you."

"Promise you’ll help us get into the town, too," Vigo said.

Quinn considered the condition. "If I can get in, I’ll bring you along as well," he finally said, raising a hand to clutch his talisman through his shirt. "I swear it on iron."

Momentum: 9 + 1 = 10

Vow: "Get Tessa and Vigo into Greatstead" – Formidable

Swear An Iron Vow: 3 + 3 Heart = 6 vs 1/6 -> Weak Hit

Momentum: 10 + 1 = 10

Gather Information: 4 + 2 Wits + 1 = 7 vs 6/10 -> Weak Hit

Momentum: 10 + 1 = 10

Oracle 4 (Location): 57 = Village

Oracle 4 (Location): 71 = Lake

Oracle 8 (Quick Settlement Name Generator): 15/99 = Ravenwick

Reach A Milestone: "Get Tessa and Vigo…" Progress: 0 + 1 = 1

Dropping her voice to a whisper, Tessa said, "Over yonder, not far from here, is Ravenwick Lake. It’s a foul bog, stinks strong enough to knock you dead. The so-called beast attacked the peat grubber camp there just a day or two ago. Weather’s not been too bad, and I don’t think anyone’s gone there since to clean up what’s left, so there might be somewhat you can find there to figure out what’s going on and get it dealt with."

"I was told this beast is going after game and hunters. A group of people gathering peat seems like an odd target."

Tessa nodded. "Might make sense if it was something else, though," she said, arching an eyebrow conspiratorially.

"You think the overseer’s lying?" Quinn asked.

She shrugged. "I think someone is."

Quinn thanked them for the information, reaffirmed his promise, and returned to the effigy. Together, they went in the direction he had been told would lead to Ravenwick Lake, trying to make as little noise as possible as they moved through the misty woods.

Face Danger: 2 + 2 Shadow = 4 vs 4/6 -> Miss

Burn Momentum: Strong Hit, Momentum Reset (2)

Momentum: 2 + 1 = 3

Reach A Milestone: "Get Tessa and Vigo…" Progress: 1 + 1 = 2

Secure An Advantage: 5 + 2 Wits = 7 vs 3/6 -> Strong Hit (choice: Prepare)

Momentum: 3 + 2 = 5

Ask The Oracle: "Is there anything notable and dangerous at the bog?" (50/50) = 13 -> No

After nearly two hours, Quinn caught the acrid scent of sulfur in the air. Taking that as a sign that they were near the bog, he slowed down to approach a minor crest in the ground. The other side formed a natural catch pot for rain run-off, covered with a thick muddy sludge broken by sporadic tufts of yellowing greenery. To one side, there was an elevated wooden platform with a single building on it, its roof serving now as a perch for a dozen ravens. They seemed calm, which he took as a sign suggesting there were no dangerous animals nearby. Taking his time, he scanned the vista carefully from his vantage point, using just his normal senses at first and then opening his mind for anything else.

Gather Information: 3 + 2 Wits + 1 Sighted = 6 vs 4/6 -> Weak Hit

Momentum: 5 + 2 = 7

Oracle 1/2 (Action/Theme): 42/35 = Demand/History

Quinn noticed a set of unusual marks at one corner of the building. Though he could not tell exactly what they were from a distance, it seemed like something warranting a closer inspection. That feeling was reinforced when he looked again with his second sight and saw a dark red residue in the air around the building, hanging in jagged streaks like frozen lightning. Intrigued, he made his way around earthen ridge to reach the platform without needing to wade through the mud.

The ravens flew off as he came near, taking perches on nearby trees. Quinn paused for a moment, holding his breath, but there were no signs of anything else reacting to his presence, so he continued onto the platform.

Gather Information: 3 + 2 Wits + 1 Sighted = 6 vs 8/9 -> Miss

Spirit: 4 – 1 = 3

Endure Stress: 2 + 3 Heart = 5 vs 2/2 -> Strong Hit + Match (choice: Shake it off)

Spirit: 3 + 1 = 4

Momentum: 7 – 1 = 6

This view of the building showed clearer signs of violence, with a number of gouge sets that looked like marks from a bear’s claws, along with chips and scrapes from other hard-edged strikes. A spade laid on the platform, its handle stained darkly and one edge crumpled as if from an impact. It had some coarse brown fur caught on the crumpled region, though the blade itself seemed fairly clean apart from old dirt residue. The wall of the building was cracked as if from a great impact, with a vertical streak of dried blood running down from a starting point above the cracks, and a hatchet laid on the platform at the foot of that area. There were several footprints around the platform, but Quinn could not make any particular sense from them.

Opening his mind, he touched a hand to one of the jagged crimson streaks, and he recoiled immediately as a scream stabbed through his mind. The sensation was raw and instinctual, too overpowering and undirected to make any further sense of it, as even the shadow of its touch left him with a headache that took a minute or two to pass.

Undeterred, Quinn took a deep breath, steeled his nerves, and opened his mind again. "This is the best lead I’ve got," he thought, wiggling his fingers in idle preparation for what was to come. Forcing himself to move too quickly to back out, he reached out and closed his hand around a streak.

Face Danger: 2 + 2 Wits + 1 Sighted = 5 vs 7/9 -> Miss

Simulacrum Health: 3 – 2 = 1

The scream ripped through his mind again, blotting out everything else in an overwhelming wash of anger.

The next thing Quinn knew, he was panting and sweating from exertion, up to his knees in the bog, holding a knife that was stuck into the effigy’s torso, his grip on it so tight that his muscles were burning. "Shit!" he shouted as he pulled the weapon back and examined the damage; there were multiple rents in the effigy where he had apparently struck it, though it was still mostly intact. Unsure of how much feeling it had, he apologized profusely, though it showed no reaction.

"Well, if I’m in here already…" Quinn said before searching for any further clues about what had happened here.

Gather Information: 1 + 2 Wits + 1 Sighted = 4 vs 3/7 -> Weak Hit

Momentum: 6 + 2 = 8

Reach A Milestone: "Get Tessa and Vigo…" Progress: 2 + 1 = 3

Quinn noticed some sort of dark wooden handle sticking up in the muck, nearly blending in from the mud covering it. He grabbed it, finding a knife with a blade of black volcanic glass. Its edge had some fur snagged on a chip, but unlike the tuft that had been on the shovel above, this fur also had a bit of flesh on it.

Eager to be out of the mire, Quinn climbed onto the wooden platform and then helped the effigy ascend as well. Glancing at the knife he had found, this time with his second sight, the same red energy was present on the flesh caught on it.

Character Summary: Quinn of Axeford

Edge 1 / Heart 3 / Iron 1 / Shadow 2 / Wits 2

Health: +5 / 5

Spirit: +4 / 5

Supply: +1 / 5

Momentum: +8 (max +10, reset +2)

EXP: 0 available / 6 total

Bonds: 1.25 / 10 Progress

Vows:

Heal the scars left by the haunt that had attacked Valeri (Epic, 0.75 / 10 Progress)

Confront the figure from the ruins (Formidable, 2 / 10 Progress)

Deliver the doll to Serene (Troublesome, 0 / 10 Progress)