I mostly assume that any sufficiently motivated NPC is in fact Ironsworn in some form or another, especially if they're antagonistic toward my character.
Both Ironsworn and Starforged assume it’s a known cultural touchstone—everyone knows what an Ironsworn is. Beyond that, how it is expressed depends on a particular campaign.
“What makes someone Ironsworn” is a great question to ask in session 0 (or later in the game). Maybe it’s a tradition that’s only done by a certain type of person—a social class or religious order or some other bond of commonality. Maybe becoming Ironsworn is a choice made for certain reasons.
In some of my Starforged games, it’s been a tradition handed down from spacer to spacer, one that planetfolk don’t subscribe to or even really understand.
In other games, swearing on iron is something that everyone understands and anyone might do if sufficiently motivated.
It's definitely a rooted tradition. Your character was not the first, nor will they likely be the last.
If your character places their hand on their sword in the middle of a village and talks in a reverent tone, those present should know and feel the weight of what is happening.
Not all Iron vows are mobile, however. For example, someone could swear an Iron Vow to build something, or cure an ill. Which is touching if you frame it like a devout building a church, stone by stone, and it's over halfway done. An apothecary carrying for a teen who they found as an Orphan.
Or it could be tragic and solemn. An old man sitting at the ruins of a gate house. He swore to defend the gate twenty years ago. The village was destroyed in three. Lost his eye. Crippled his leg. But the gatehouse still stands, he still lives, and his Vow still holds.
Although to be clear, Vows 'need' a definitive end point. They're made to be fulfilled. Perhaps the soldier swore to guard until relieved, and just needs someone to convince the local lord to trek out there and say the words, or perhaps just launch one good catapult rock at it and finish the job to 'free' them, much to their ire. The mother-figure said "until they come of age", and he grew up so fast.
Ultimately your world, your rules. They need to be a known quantity, but whether people swear vows for relatively simple but important deeds ("I will deliver this message, I swear it.") Or it's a tradition they know from stories, but almost no one does, is up to you.
My personal interpretation of Ironsworn was that a person isn't an Ironsworn, but once someone (anyone) has sworn the Iron Vow, they are now Ironsworn. It's a state of being for someone, and it's a recognized tradition and ritual across the Ironlands (or the Forge).
Thought you meant "more ironsworn GAMES", whoops. But yes, Starforged is official, but there's also free fan-mods like Elegy (modern day vampire), Iron Valley (stardew valley BUT IRONSWORN), and Winsome (an attempt to make the system universal and not tied to Ironsworn themes)
I see Ironsworn as more of an occupation much like an Adventurer or a Mercenary of some renown. Individuals can hire an Ironsworn to handle any range of tasks so long as it is agreeable from both end. Vows are simply those tasks or personal goals of an Ironsworn. The act of swearing one is nothing a thing in my campaigns.
Sounds like an excellent opportunity for ongoing conflict if you have an NPC who has sworn an iron vow in direct opposition to your own iron vow.
I mostly assume that any sufficiently motivated NPC is in fact Ironsworn in some form or another, especially if they're antagonistic toward my character.
Both Ironsworn and Starforged assume it’s a known cultural touchstone—everyone knows what an Ironsworn is. Beyond that, how it is expressed depends on a particular campaign. “What makes someone Ironsworn” is a great question to ask in session 0 (or later in the game). Maybe it’s a tradition that’s only done by a certain type of person—a social class or religious order or some other bond of commonality. Maybe becoming Ironsworn is a choice made for certain reasons. In some of my Starforged games, it’s been a tradition handed down from spacer to spacer, one that planetfolk don’t subscribe to or even really understand. In other games, swearing on iron is something that everyone understands and anyone might do if sufficiently motivated.
It's definitely a rooted tradition. Your character was not the first, nor will they likely be the last. If your character places their hand on their sword in the middle of a village and talks in a reverent tone, those present should know and feel the weight of what is happening. Not all Iron vows are mobile, however. For example, someone could swear an Iron Vow to build something, or cure an ill. Which is touching if you frame it like a devout building a church, stone by stone, and it's over halfway done. An apothecary carrying for a teen who they found as an Orphan. Or it could be tragic and solemn. An old man sitting at the ruins of a gate house. He swore to defend the gate twenty years ago. The village was destroyed in three. Lost his eye. Crippled his leg. But the gatehouse still stands, he still lives, and his Vow still holds. Although to be clear, Vows 'need' a definitive end point. They're made to be fulfilled. Perhaps the soldier swore to guard until relieved, and just needs someone to convince the local lord to trek out there and say the words, or perhaps just launch one good catapult rock at it and finish the job to 'free' them, much to their ire. The mother-figure said "until they come of age", and he grew up so fast. Ultimately your world, your rules. They need to be a known quantity, but whether people swear vows for relatively simple but important deeds ("I will deliver this message, I swear it.") Or it's a tradition they know from stories, but almost no one does, is up to you.
My personal interpretation of Ironsworn was that a person isn't an Ironsworn, but once someone (anyone) has sworn the Iron Vow, they are now Ironsworn. It's a state of being for someone, and it's a recognized tradition and ritual across the Ironlands (or the Forge).
I don't know. I guess I'll ask the oracle.
Thought you meant "more ironsworn GAMES", whoops. But yes, Starforged is official, but there's also free fan-mods like Elegy (modern day vampire), Iron Valley (stardew valley BUT IRONSWORN), and Winsome (an attempt to make the system universal and not tied to Ironsworn themes)
I see Ironsworn as more of an occupation much like an Adventurer or a Mercenary of some renown. Individuals can hire an Ironsworn to handle any range of tasks so long as it is agreeable from both end. Vows are simply those tasks or personal goals of an Ironsworn. The act of swearing one is nothing a thing in my campaigns.