Ep 1: Ramia & The War Dogs (Ironsworn Actual Play Adventure)

The first episode of an Ironsworn actual play follows Ramia and her warband as they confront raiders, uncover hidden threats, and spill blood in their pursuit of justice for their fallen kin.

May 10, 2025

The first episode of an Ironsworn actual play follows Ramia and her warband as they confront raiders, uncover hidden threats, and spill blood in their pursuit of justice for their fallen kin.

Name: Ramia Karth  |  LV/XP: 1/0

Stats: | Edge: 2 | Heart: 3 | Iron: 2 | Shadow: 1 | Wits: 3 | 

Tracks:
Health: 5/5
Spirit: 5/5
Supply: 5/5

Momentum: 2/10 (Reset: 2)

Gear: Leather Armor, Iron Sword, & Shield

Assets:

Path: Commander - You lead a warband with +4 strength. Roll +strength when you command your warband. War Dogs / Companions: Sidan the kindly warrior & his dependable brother Ghalen, the bold and loud archer Masais, and finally Jebran the cruel yet effective skirmisher.

Companion: Hound - Your hound is your steadfast companion (name: Freya)

Empowered: There is value to your lineage/title/bloodline - Daughter of First Blade Hagarr, the chief of Clan Kuron

Setting Info:

The Ironlands are a harsh, perilous frontier where survivors of the Old World fled after the Skulde clans destroyed their kingdoms. They now live in scattered settlements called circles, ruled by petty clan-chiefs whose rivalries threaten their fragile peace. The land is dotted with strange, indestructible iron pillars, worshipped by some and feared by most. Wardens defend these communities from raiders, beasts, and darker things that prowl the forests and waterways. Though rare, magic exists—wielded by the gifted—and the people cling to prayers and old gods in a world where ancient races, feral remnants of those first born to this land, and unspeakable horrors still linger.

Day 1

Smoke rises over the stone huts of her town as Ramia and her War Dogs return home. With a sinking stomach, they realize their clanhold has been raided, and many of their clanmates lie dead on the roads as they approach…

Gather Information > SH > Initiate Problem

Ramia asks the people of the Circle what they saw—where did the raiders come from?

They tell her that they first saw the warband coming from the northeast. Rumors of raiders growing more and more bold have been circling the southern reaches for a while. Supposedly, they are led by some enigmatic new leader named Arenson who’s managed to unite many of the squabbling rainder groups. Ramia curses herself for not being there to help them. She had been given command of the War Dogs, a small warband of four, just last month. She and her men were still green, untested as Wardens. “Yet we might have been able to save someone…anyone…” she thinks to herself as she watches the bloodied corpses of her neighbour Bela and her young daughter Rumi being carried away. Only clanless raiders would be vile enough to hack apart a child like that, no clan warrior would ever do anything so dishonorable.

As the daughter of First Blade Hagarr, the clan’s warchief, she swears an Iron Vow before the Council of Elders and her War Dogs to find and punish those who had harmed them. As Ramia and her companions gather supplies to prepare for the journey ahead, the Clan gathers to burn their honored dead. She talks with the Council and confirms that her father will return later this very night with the bulk of the Clan’s forces in tow, and feels confident that the clan will be safe tonight.

Undertake Journey > Strong hit

They make their way through the rough highland hills, arriving at an abandoned hovel next to a lone white tree on a hilltop. They take a survey of the land from up there and set Freya to track. Unfortunately, she slips on the wet rocks and hurts herself!

UJ > MM > Swear Danger

Ramia and the others can hardly shake off a feeling of dread and danger as they descend down the valley. There may be ambushes lurking around any corner. (-2 Spirit)

UJ > M > New Danger > Stranger, Superstition

They see a savage-looking man wandering the hills as well. The Firstborn Shaman spots them approaching and raises his staff in an angry yell. Other feral Firstborn appear from the hills, ready to kill!

Battle:

Weak Hit - Lose Supplies

Strong Hit - Push them back

End the battle - Weak Hit

They form up immediately to meet the threat. Ramia barks orders for Masais and Jebran to fire arrows, which have little effect except to waste their supply. The Firstborn rush near them and attack with crude axes and spears as Ramia and Ghalen defend. They push them back quickly, and Ramia orders her warriors to fight as a group and break their line. The Firstborn howl as they escape into the hills, defeated but sure to return…

Make Camp > Miss

They can’t find a good spot to camp and rough it in their bedrolls for the night. (-1 Strength for Warband and -1 Supply)

Day 2

They awaken to a new dawn.

Ramia scouts the land as they move, keeping an eye out for any more Firstborn.

Resupply> Miss: They find nothing. What's worse, Jebran loses some rations when he falls down a small ravine.

WH: They travel along the narrow, rocky valleys to the next waypoint, finding nothing of note except harsh terrain.

Ramia decides to scout with her hound Freya, and they come across a river crossing. Armed men seem to be overseeing laborers working to fortify the crossing with rough wooden defenses.

Do they look like raiders? No, they aren’t armed like petty raiders but a Clan warband. Which Clan? Judging from the green runes painted on their armor, Clan Okoth, from the woods to the north. Are they friendly to her Clan Kuron? Yes.

Ramia approaches the men with a friendly face, and the men don’t seem to be hostile. She asks them if they have seen raiders in the area recently and explains she and her warband are tracking Arenson’s men.

Gather Info > Strong Hit: Attack, Creation, Road

The Okoth warriors say that raiders attacked this very location recently, and they had been sent to protect the workers as they worked to extend the clan road over the river crossing. They say the raiders escaped to the west, just half a day ago.

Ramia thanks them and returns to her warband, and they decide to move west and follow the raiders as soon as possible. They make haste west, but the rough terrain makes progress difficult. Their attempts to forage for supplies yield little, and Ramia suffers some scrapes from a collapsing rock ledge. (-1 Health)

They set out to forage again, and this time they find some bird eggs and hearty roots. However, Jebran the scout hasn’t returned… Do they go looking or wait for him? Wandering around the hills in the dark would be a bad idea; they hold their torches alight and await Jebran’s return.

After a tense hour, Jebran returns with a brace of coneys in hand! (+1 Supply)

They decide to keep moving and finally come across their goal. They see the expansive ruins of a temple complex ahead of them. Dots of light here and there indicate torches and campfires. This must be the raiders’ base in the region.

Day 2, Delve

They carefully sneak up toward the temple. A lone guard watching by the fens seems to notice them and starts to run to raise the alarm!

Enter the Fay> Weak Hit: Ramia whispers orders to the archers to hit him quickly, and moments later, two arrows are sprouting from the man’s back. He stumbles and falls with a crash…

Ramia knows more will come to investigate the sound. She orders the warband to get into ambush positions quickly around the area.

Moments later, a small group of raiders appears to investigate the source of the noise, as expected. Initiative: War Dogs

The ambush quickly devolves into a violent melee as Ramia and her men descend on the unsuspecting raiders. The raiders are violent and brutal in their defense. (-1 Spirit)

The War Dogs cut through the raiders, putting them on the back foot.

End the Fight > Miss: Ramia demands the remaining ones surrender or die, and the raiders choose death! After a few more moments of violence, they stand victorious .

Others must have heard the sounds, so they keep moving quickly through the structure, staying hidden among the ruined walls.

Delve > Miss > Denizens Set Ambush:

As they pass through a ruined hallway, they’re suddenly beset by enemies from all sides! They must have set an ambush; the enemy has initiative.

The ambushers jump down from above as Ramia and her warriors raise their shields. The War Dogs somehow defend well through the initial attack, and the enemy suffers heavy damage as their ambush fails! They push the raiders back, but they manage to counter hard, hurting Ramia!

The War Dogs turn the tide and defeat the raiders, forcing them to surrender. One of the raiders pretends to surrender, then suddenly tries to stab Ramia when she walks nearby! (-1 Health) She mercilessly cuts down the honorless bastard and turns to the last of the captured raiders. “Tell me where Arenson is, or you get the same.”

Gather Information: Strong Hit

One of the terrified raiders spills everything, telling them that Arenson isn’t here; he’s out meeting with his brother. When pressed for details, he says Arenson is traveling somewhere along the river, but that’s all he knows. Ramia sighs, then hits him hard with the edge of her shield, knocking him out cold.

Do we clear out the fort or leave to search for Arenson?

It’s a bad idea to go on a wild goose chase; destroying this base now protects the clan.

They delve deeper (Miss > Guarded), but are quickly met with a large guarded structure ahead. Multiple raiders are patrolling around the ruined temple. The guards spot them and start running towards them, raising the alarm. So it would be a battle then! Ramia barks orders to stay together and advance towards the temple steps!

Enter the Fray: Strong Hit

They move as a unit, keeping each other safe and fighting back raider after raider in their way. They make it up the temple steps and take the high ground.

Clash: SH > SH > WH > WH : Victory

They dominate the battlefield, keeping the raiders from gaining ground and destroying their attempts to form up. Bones shatter and blood sprays across the stony ground as the battle rages on, till the War Dogs are left victorious and drenched in blood atop the temple steps…

Delve: Strong Hit

They enter the temple and begin searching the area for any remaining raiders, finding a sniveling man cowering in the corner. Jebran drags him out onto the floor.

Ramia, drenched in blood, leans down and asks him how many others are left.

Gather Information – Miss: Unwelcome Information: The man sneers at her and demands they surrender, saying they have more forces in the area ready to come kill them all.

Ramia nods, and Jebran slices the raider’s throat. Sidan looks away.

“They must have a supply area we haven’t found yet. Let’s burn that down and get back home to Kuron” she says.

Delve – Miss → Burn Momentum → Weak Hit: They make their way into the last large chamber at the back of the temple ruins, finding crates full of dried rations and racks of crude metal weapons. This is far more organized than raiders should be… who is this Arenson? And what are his plans?

Face Danger > Miss > Destroy Supplies: Delay: It takes more time than she had hoped, but they gather everything into a pile and light it on fire.

Leave Depths – Weak Hit: Endure Stress: They leave the burning ruins behind as they slink into the hills, silently considering the amount of death they have exacted this night…(-1 Spirit)

End Session - Tune in next week to see how the story develops! I’m trying to set myself a goal to post every Friday!