Quinn of Axeford (Ironsworn Actual Play - Session 6)

Session 0

Session 5

After playing the last session, I realized that I made a mistake in allowing action roll scores over 10. The first instance didn't matter, but the Swear An Iron Vow result should've been a Weak Hit instead of a Strong Hit. I'm generally not a fan of retconning stuff over a rules mistake, and I also rather liked the fiction I'd come up with, so rather than going back to change that, I decided to make the initial journey that'd start of this session Dangerous, in place of my initial inclination to make it Troublesome, as a way of offsetting that.

Speaking of rules and rolls, Quinn had quite the run of luck in this one, with four Misses with matched challenge dice. Truly amazing stuff, but that's how it can go in Ironsworn.

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Quinn woke shortly before dawn, as usual, but this time, his restless sleep had been from excitement rather than from nightmares. After years of hearing tales of his parents and Servan traveling in their past, this was his chance to have some of those same experiences. In a way, as he dressed quietly, it made him feel closer to his mother than he ever had before. Kato and Servan said that she had been the unofficial leader of their group, always driving them onward towards their next entanglement, until she decided to leave that life after becoming pregnant with Sola.

Nobody told him much of what had happened to Valeri after that. Part of Quinn wondered if he might be able to find someone who could, but that seemed like an impossible wish.

He pushed that thought aside and finished gathering his supplies. With one last look at the fog-wreathed village, he said a farewell under his breath and set off.

Journey: Reach the next settlement (Dangerous)

Undertake A Journey: 2 + 2 Wits + 1 Bond + 1 Bonded = 6 vs 5/9 -> Weak Hit

Reach A Milestone: "Reach the next..." Progress: 0 + 2 = 2

Supply: 5 – 1 = 4

Oracle 6 (Location Descriptor): 21 = Grim

Once he was out of sight of Axeford, Quinn slowed his pace. While the land was not unfamiliar, he was used to crossing it later in the day, with better visibility, and the last thing he wanted now was for his journey to come to an early end because of a hastily misplaced step. As the sun rose and the morning fog thinned, though, he was not able to hold himself back forever. He was almost moving at a trot when the landmark he was looking for loomed out of the mist.

Sticking up from in a depression, the black pillar was like a rod dropped out of the sky to embed itself immovably into the earth. A pace wide and with any edges having been weathered smooth over time, nobody knew whether it was a natural formation or a remnant of some lost ruin, but the four short chains of dark metal hanging from its top, each ending with a manacle cuff too high off the ground for even the tallest villager to reach, hinted at a sinister history.

To Quinn’s mind, it had always seemed like the petrified finger of a buried titan, raised in warning. On this day, though, it was a welcome sight, since it was the first marker that Servan had suggested he use to orient himself. Setting it to his back, he continued, moving directly towards the rising sun now.

Undertake A Journey: 2 + 2 Wits = 4 vs 1/10 -> Weak Hit

Reach A Milestone: "Reach the next..." Progress: 2 + 2 = 4

Supply: 4 – 1 = 3

Oracle 4/6 (Location/Location Descriptor): 02/76 = Ruin/Lush

Oracle 1/2 (Action/Theme): 94/38 = Escort/Protection

Several hours passed while he trudged on, long enough that Quinn shifted from moving towards the sun to using his shadow as a guide, but eventually, he saw a block of grey stone come into view. Heartened, and also attracted to the prospect of getting a break from the biting wind that had picked up, he hurried to cross the intervening distance.

The building’s former purpose was indiscernible in its mostly-collapsed state, but its remaining walls still gave some measure of shelter, and the moss that was growing over much of it provided a soft surface for Quinn to sit on. He took off his boots to stretch and air his feet, then ate some cured beet strips. The thrill of adventurous travel was still singing through him, but with the wind whistling through the cracks around him, his present solitude also weighed on Quinn. He was used to always being around others; even his previous forays into the wilderness to hunt or forage had always been with at least one other person, if only to help ease the passing of time. His second delve into the ruin-filled cave had been an act of desperate necessity, one that he chose to do on his own to avoid putting anyone else at risk. This time, though, he was well and truly alone.

With that lingering thought, Quinn set about trying to settle in for the night. Though there was still some daylight left, he did not think he was likely to find another location with similar shelter before sunset, and he did not want to travel in the dark.

Make Camp: 1 + 3 Supply = 3 vs 1/10 -> Weak Hit (choice: Prepare)

Undertake A Journey: 6 + 2 Wits + 1 = 9 vs 2/5 -> Strong Hit

Reach A Milestone: "Reach the next..." Progress: 4 + 2 = 6

Oracle 6 (Location Descriptor): 60 = Dead

The next morning, Quinn reached the last of the landmarks that Servan had suggested for him: a stream that goes through a dry period around this time of year, until winter’s snow and spring’s thaw can fill it again. The loose bed of smooth stones made for treacherous footing, but its contrast to the pale colors of the autumn grass made it an easy guide to follow.

Resupply: 4 + 2 Wits = 6 vs 2/5 -> Strong Hit

Supply: 3 + 2 = 5

When he reached the muddy basin that the stream emptied into, he took some time to forage. Much to his pleasure, he found a cluster of cloudberry bushes, their fruit still waiting ripe and ready. The unexpected treat buoyed his spirit, and he took some extras to eat later on.

Undertake A Journey: 2 + 2 Wits = 4 vs 6/6 -> Miss + Match

Oracle 1/2 (Action/Theme): 91/98 = Escalate/Home

Oracle 9 (Settlement Trouble): 49 = Provisions are scarce

Oracle 6 (Location Descriptor): 40 = Big

Lacking any clear road to follow, Quinn made his way along the lowlands between the landscape’s rolling hills, figuring that the path of least resistance would be the best choice. As dusk neared, however, he had not yet found any signs of another settlement, so he changed priorities towards finding somewhere to pass the next night.

An opening dug into the meeting point of two hills caught his attention. Drawing closer, it seemed to be a small dirt cave. Quinn approached, marveling at his good fortune, when he heard a scuffle of movement from its shadows.

Foe: Hillside Beast (Dangerous)

Enter The Fray: 2 + 2 Wits = 4 vs 2/9 -> Weak Hit (choice: Bolster)

Momentum: 5 + 2 = 7

Acting on instinct, Quinn dove aside, narrowly avoiding the lunging mass that shot forth from the opening. The beast was the size of a boar, with dull brown spines covering its six-legged form, the front two ending in curved claws that seemed equally suited to digging through earth or carving through flesh. It growled, pulling back its lips to reveal a mouth full of wedge-shaped teeth, as it circled to trap Quinn between itself and the hillside. Keeping his eyes on it, Quinn rose to his feet, holding his hands raised to try to seem bigger in hopes that that would give the beast pause.

Face Danger: 6 + 2 Shadow + 1 Trickster = 9 vs 5/8 -> Strong Hit

Momentum: 7 + 1 = 8

The beast delayed a moment before pouncing again, giving Quinn enough time to find his footing and avoid its charge with more control this time. As it recovered from the failed attack, Quinn drew his knife and tried to take a careful look over the thing’s makeup, hoping that might reveal a weakness in its spiky protection.

Secure An Advantage: 4 + 2 Wits = 6 vs 3/6 -> Weak Hit

Momentum: 8 + 1 = 9

Oracle 16 (Combat Action): 72 = Create an opportunity

Quinn saw that the flaps of loose flesh hanging over its flanks were propped away from its body to rest over the upper parts of its limbs, and the spines did not extend to its underside. Its jaw and throat were also unprotected, though its squat form kept those too close to the ground for him to attack them directly.

Unfortunately, focused as he was on the beast, Quinn did not notice that it had herded him towards a slick of mud until his foot slipped, forcing him to struggle to maintain his balance.

Face Danger: 1 + 1 Edge = 2 vs 10/10 -> Miss + Match

Health: 4 – 2 = 2

Endure Harm: 6 + 2 Health = 8 vs 2/4 -> Strong Hit (choice: Shake it off)

Health: 2 + 1 = 3

Momentum: 9 – 1 = 8

Arms flailing, Quinn fell flat on his back at the same time that the beast pounced. Its midlimbs landed on his legs, pinning him firmly while the forelimb claws slashed down. Quinn was used to being the smaller competitor in wrestling matches, though, so he had the presence of mind to shield his head and neck with his forearms, taking a set of deep cuts through his cloak but shedding the weight behind the blow effectively, giving himself a window to retaliate before the beast recovered.

Secure An Advantage: 6 + 1 Iron = 7 vs 3/4 -> Strong Hit (choice: Take control)

Quinn lashed out with his empty hand, slapping his fingers at the beast’s eye. It reared back, letting out a rattling howl of pain. With its weight off of his body and its unprotected underbelly exposed, Quinn seized the opening to roll up to a kneeling position and thrust the knife.

Strike: 4 + 1 Iron + 1 = 6 vs 7/10 -> Miss

Burn Momentum: Weak Hit, Momentum Reset (2)

Harm: 2 + 2 Cutthroat vs Dangerous = 8 Progress

Oracle 16 (Combat Action): 15 = Provoke a reckless response

Face Danger: 3 + 2 Wits = 5 vs 9/9 -> Miss + Match

Health: 3 – 2 = 1

Endure Harm: 3 + 1 Health = 4 vs 6/10 -> Miss

Momentum: 2 – 1 = 1

The blade sank deep into its flesh, but its whipping limbs forced Quinn to back off almost immediately. Misjudging the severity of the injury he had inflicted, Quinn tried to lunge forward again as soon as his feet were back under him, but he threw himself right into a swiping limb. It was a small fortune that he got close enough to be inside the range of the beast’s claws, but its stout limb clubbed him solidly in the chest, sending him tumbling back. The knife skittered out of his grasp, and he struggled to get his breathing under control again as the beast surged forth.

Face Danger: 6 + 1 Edge = 7 vs 7/7 -> Miss + Match

Pay The Price: 91 = It forces you to act against your best intentions

Supply: 5 – 2 = 3

Spirit: 4 – 2 = 2

Endure Stress: 4 + 3 Heart = 7 vs 3/6 -> Strong Hit (choice: Shake it off)

Spirit: 2 + 1 = 3

Momentum: 1 – 1 = 0

End The Fight: 8 Progress vs 1/10 -> Weak Hit

Spirit: 3 – 2 = 1

Endure Stress: 5 + 3 Heart = 8 vs 4/5 -> Strong Hit (choice: Embrace the darkness)

Momentum: 0 + 1 = 1

Panicked and in no position to evade, all Quinn could do was tuck himself into a tight ball as the beast charged at him. By some miracle, that was enough to present his pack as the point of impact instead of his flesh; there was a crunch of something breaking in there, but he was mostly unharmed as it trampled him.

The shadow of its form passed, and Quinn fought to subdue his fear. "This won’t be it," he thought as the beast turned to charge again, "this can’t be it. This isn’t how it ends for me."

He shouted defiantly, throwing the folds of his cloak wide in a makeshift threat display. That did nothing to slow the beast’s charge, so he resorted to covering himself again, just trying to protect his vitals and make himself as unappealing a target as he could.

The beast crashed into Quinn, but rather than stampeding over him again, the pair of them tumbled together, tangled in a mess. Having been braced for the impact, Quinn got the better of it and ended up directly facing the red stain where he had wounded the beast earlier. Without thinking, he punched a fist into the wound.

The flesh gave way, his forearm sinking halfway into the hot, wet mass of fat and muscle before stopping. The beast shuddered and thrashed, leaving Quinn thinking they were going to die together, but he eventually noticed that it had stopped moving. He opened his eyes and took a moment to just breathe before it finally settled into his mind that only one of them was dead.

Quinn extricated his hand from the wound, soaked in gore up to his elbow. Tired, wounded, and aching all over, some part of his mind still remembered that his continued survival was not guaranteed. In the dim twilight, he tried to examine the beast for whatever he might be able to scavenge from it.

Secure An Advantage: 1 + 2 Wits = 3 vs 9/10 -> Miss

Although it was visually similar to a hedgehog on the surface, the true anatomy of the beast seemed to be something wholly different. Even after retrieving his knife and cutting open its underbelly, the deeper meat and organs were too foreign to Quinn for him to make sense of what might be worth butchering, and its pelt was bizarrely connected to its underlying flesh, stymieing his attempt at skinning it. After several minutes, he gave up, settling for just impaling a bit of fat on a stick that he could light as a temporary torch for checking the interior of the cave.

In there, he found the apparent reason for the beast’s stubborn insistence on fighting to its death: two smaller versions laid there, emaciated and motionless. Quinn guessed they were its young, starved to death. Any resentment he might have considered towards the beast vanished in an instant, replaced by a sense of empathetic guilt. He set down the makeshift torch and started to drag out the corpses. "Maybe it felt like it had nothing left to live for," he thought.

Once the cave was clear, Quinn gathered some grass and wood to start a fire, giving him some light to check what the damage had been to his pack. The cloudberries had been ruined, along with some tins for herbs and ointments. He tried to make use of what he could from those to treat his wounds from the beast’s claws before making a camp for the night.

Heal: 6 + 1 Iron = 7 vs 3/9 -> Weak Hit

Health: 1 + 2 = 3

Supply: 3 – 1 = 2

Make Camp: 6 + 2 Supply = 8 vs 6/6 -> Strong Hit + Match (choices: Relax, Prepare)

Spirit: 1 + 1 = 2

Undertake A Journey: 4 + 2 Wits + 1 = 7 vs 2/7 -> Weak Hit

Supply: 2 – 1 = 1

Reach A Milestone: "Reach the next..." Progress: 6 + 2 = 8

Reach Your Destination: 8 Progress vs 2/9 -> Weak Hit

Oracle 8 (Quick Settlement Name Generator): 24/01 = Redmoor

Oracle 9 (Settlement Trouble): 40 = Raiders prey on the weak

The night passed quietly; perhaps the exhaustion from the harrowing encounter with the beast had left his mind too tired for more nightmares; but come morning, Quinn found that the gashes on his arm needed further tending. He washed them off and wrapped them as best as he could, which was passable, but coupled with what was lost to the beast’s trampling, his medical supplies were running dangerously low already.

The rolling hills gave way to a marsh, and with it, a sorely welcome sight, as there was a wooden footpath laid out provide dry passage through the red-veined grassy wetland. Taking it brought Quinn to a low hill, atop which sat a small circle of wood huts.

That, however, had a less welcome sight. One of them had been reduced to a charred skeleton.

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Character Summary: Quinn of Axeford

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

Health: +3 / 5

Spirit: +2 / 5

Supply: +1 / 5

Momentum: +1 (max +10, reset +2)

EXP: 1 available / 4 total

Bonds: 0.75 / 10 Progress

Vows:

Heal the scars left by the haunt that had attacked Valeri (Epic, 0.25 / 10 Progress)

Confront the figure from the ruins (Formidable, 1 / 10 Progress)

Assets:

Bonded (x / - / -)

Sighted (x / - / -)

Trickster (x / - / -)

Cutthroat (x / - / -)

Session 7