Lodestar: A Review
New Content for a Faithful Companion
This review is based on the Lulu printing of the new Lodestar, the Ironsworn reference guide, by Shawn Tomkin.
Introduction
Full disclosure before jumping into this review of Lodestar: Ironsworn is my favorite TTRPG, as many of you may already know. It came into my life in a time of need, ignited my creativity, and gave me a focus when I was very much lacking one. It is probably an understatement to say that I’m biased. With that out of the way, I am going to attempt to present the facts as facts (without fanboying too hard) in regards to the quality of the book and the new content.
The original Ironsworn Lodestar, the moves and oracle reference guide for Shawn Tomkin’s hit solo TTRPG, released in 2018. It contained all of the moves and oracles from the base Ironsworn rulebook in an easy-access, standard US letter-size booklet. Ironsworn: Delve, the game’s dungeon delving expansion, released in 2020, adding new moves, oracles, and delve themes and domains. When I first started playing Ironsworn in 2021, I printed off the Delve moves, themes, and domains on letter-sized cardstock to have on hand with my original Lodestar.
With the release of the expanded version of Ironsworn Lodestar, the need for these cardstock extras has evaporated like rain in the summer. Shawn has graciously given us the One Book to Rule Them All for Ironsworn! The new Lodestar has reinvigorated my desire to play Ironsworn and will certainly hold me over until the release of Ironsworn 2e in a few years.
Print & Digital Options
All comments made regarding the quality of the physical book, its printing, and comparisons to the Starforged Reference Guide (SF-R) and Sundered Isles (SI) game books will be based on the Lulu edition. The book is available from Lulu in a 6x9 coil-bound format for $17.90 USD. DriveThruRPG offers the PDF, a 6x9 softcover, and a 6x9 hardcover version. There is no coil-bound option through DTRPG. While the DTRPG physical versions are technically Pay What You Want, they have a minimum price to cover the cost of printing.
Softcover minimum price is $5.42
Hardcover’s minimum price is $11.27.
The PDF is also available for PWYW pricing on Shawn’s Itch.io store.
Quality
Binding
The Lulu version of Lodestar comes in a coil binding, allowing the pages to lay flat while in use. This was a big issue with the original letter-sized Lodestar, as it would typically require a paper weight to keep the page from turning. Unlike the SF-R and SI coil-bound game books, Lodestar has a single coil binding. At first, I expected this to be troublesome—either having difficulty turning pages or the coil coming unbound. After several reads and a bit of in-game usage, I’ve found that the single coil binding holds up quite well and provides a smooth page-turning experience. The Sundered Isles Kickstarter printings of the Starforged Reference Guide and Sundered Isles Gameplay and Oracles books are occasionally tricky to turn pages in, but this hasn’t been an issue with Lodestar. Time, of course, may prove my initial impressions wrong, but as of this writing, the single coil binding exceeds my expectations.
Cover & Pages
The Lodestar cover, unlike the SF-R and SI books, has a glossier finish on a noticeably lighter weight cardstock. Despite the lighter weight, it is well made with a high-quality printing of the cover image and title. While I don’t have exact weights for the paper used in the internals of the book, it is noticeably lighter than that found in the SF-R and SI books. That said, the paper is solid and the print quality is excellent, even on pages predominantly containing images or other graphics.
When I received my copies of the Kickstarter printings of the Starforged Reference Guide and the twin Sundered Isles books, there were several pages that were stuck together and required careful work to separate them without tearing or causing damage to the pages. I recall others having more severe issues than I did. I continue to have occasional issues with the pages and the bindings in those books, making it a challenge to turn the pages. So far, with the Lodestar book, I’ve had zero issues of this kind. The pages are crisp, turn easily, and I’ve had no issues with the binding “sticking.”
New Content
Now for the really good stuff! Shawn has included several new additions in this version of Lodestar. Not only does it include the moves, domains, themes, and oracles from the Delve expansion, he has written new moves based on moves in Starforged for Ironsworn! There’s been talk of an Ironsworn 2e in the discord server for quite some time, though I think even playtests are still a ways off, but if the additions to Lodestar are any indication, we are in for a second edition that goes beyond even the exceptional additions, alterations, and updates that we received in Starforged and Sundered Isles—can you tell I’m excited?
Lodestar introduces one brand new move (Follow a Path) and codifies scene challenges, with variant versions of Face Danger and Secure an Advantage. Of these new moves, Follow a Path is the one I was looking forward to the most. As anyone who’s played Starforged will know, there’s an exploration move in that game—Set a Course—that allows you to roll +supply to simulate an entire journey in one roll. Follow a Path does this for Ironsworn.
Prior to the introduction of this move, I was using Face Danger as a way of simulating a journey that I didn’t want to focus on within the narrative. The weak hit options for FD worked really well for providing spice to the journey without requiring multiple moves and narrative focus. Now, however, Follow a Path does something similar, while specifically providing weak hit options tailored to travel. While a miss using FD doesn’t really provide too much inspiration for resolving a single-move journey, Follow a Path’s miss options specifically provide you with narrative/mechanical means to reach your destination without having to roll for the journey again.
Scene Challenges are a welcome addition to the Ironsworn toolkit. In Starforged, a scene challenge is described as “an optional structured approach for resolving an extended non-combat scene against a threat or other characters, particularly when a time limit or looming danger adds extra urgency” (Starforged, p. 239). I used scene challenges in my actual play of Tavon Gatling’s “Rise & Shiningstar” to resolve Talia’s escape from the fast-approaching explosion of the Shiningstar colony ship. The tension provided by the scene challenge made for a much more riveting and dangerous escape than a troublesome journey would have—especially with the chance of not escaping at all inherent within the scene challenge.
Post Publishing Note: It was pointed out to me by Edge of Dreams (thanks!) on the Ironsworn Discord that Scene Challenges have been in Ironsworn since the beginning (pp. 234-235 in the core book). I don’t recall ever seeing that before (though I must’ve at some point) and my sole reference for Scene Challenges was Starforged. That said, the original Lodestar did not codify Scene Challenges as moves in the way that Starforged does. The new Lodestar gives Scene Challenges an entire page (p. 11).
In Starforged, scene challenges make use of a four-segment clock. Ironsworn did not use clocks, and as a result, Shawn has opted to use a four-segment (or box) countdown track instead. When you Begin a Scene, you create your four-box track and then set a rank for the scene. There are no further explanations given for the rank of the scene. If I wasn’t familiar with—or had access to—the Starforged rulebook and played solely based on the Lodestar text, I wouldn’t understand the why of giving the scene a rank. As it stands, even as someone familiar with Starforged’s scene challenges, I had to go back to the SF rulebook and read the section on scene challenges (pp. 239-241) to make sense of the Lodestar move.
The SF rulebook says this regarding giving a rank to the scene challenge: “As part of this move [Begin a Scene], you’ll create a standard progress track…to measure your headway towards an objective” (Starforged, p. 239). This stands true with using scene challenges in Ironsworn. Whenever you make the Face Danger or Secure an Advantage moves in the scene challenge, you are directed to mark progress (twice on a strong hit!). Instead of marking a box on your scene challenge track (the four-box progress track), you mark it on the standard progress track. The weak hit and miss prompts have you mark a box on the four-box scene track. When the scene track is full, you make a progress roll based on the amount of progress you’ve accumulated on the standard track versus the challenge dice.
All of that to say, it works almost exactly like the scene challenges in Starforged but without the accompanying explanations. If you have the Starforged rulebook, I’d recommend reading pp. 239-241 before employing scene challenges in Ironsworn.
In addition to the new moves and Delve themes and domains, Lodestar introduces several new tables. The first new section you’ll find is titled “Building a History for your Character.” This section helps form your Ironsworn’s background before setting out on their first vow through the use of the Prelude Events table. These seventy entries provide an asset and a brief narrative of how the character came about the skills the asset provides, some also provide a jumping off point for an initial vow.
You could feasibly roll on this table three times to create some backstory for your character and randomly establish your three starting assets.
The original Ironsworn oracles are also present (Action, Theme, Settlement, Character generation, etc.) along with the Delve additions (Descriptor, Focus, traps, etc.). Additionally Lodestar introduces oracles for overland landmarks, waypoints, and perils, as well as the same tables for coastal waters. These new tables go a long way toward enhancing the player’s ability to flesh out the Ironlands or whatever setting they choose to play in! I am excited about employing these in my future games—particularly the hare-brained idea I have to play in a completely homebrew setting and randomly generate everything as I play. Maybe I’ll get to that one day…maybe?
Finally, Shawn has included text boxes throughout Lodestar with tips, suggestions, and ways to bring Starforged mechanics (such as the more robust Secure an Advantage or End the Fight) into your Ironsworn games. Some moves, such as Reach a Milestone, have been formatted similarly to SF’s version of the move to improve readability (Lodestar, p. 12).
Conclusions
While I am certainly biased, I think the new version of Lodestar is well worth picking up. The amount of new content via the new moves and oracles, as well as the inclusion of all of the Delve content, make it the quintessential reference guide for playing narrative-forward, grounded fantasy, whether in the Ironlands or a setting of your own design. I look forward to many adventures powered by Lodestar.
Great review, Eric! Good to know that previous knowledge of Starforged is necessary to understand some rules. Sounds like a must-have supplement if you're familiar with Ironsworn and Starforged, but also a little overwhelming for newcomers like me hahah.
I should probably get used to Ironsworn first.
Thanks for the review!
Excellent review. I didn’t bother with the original Lodestar, as it basically replicated what I had. But this seems like it’s some good stuff and puts it all together in one place. I think I’ll pick it up - and I definitely concur with going ring bound!