A couple of years ago I stumbled upon something "weird" (and amazing): a solo system called Ironsworn. 

Long story short: I fell in love with it but - for some reasons that I'm going to explain in a few minutes - I never actually played it (at least until now). I read the system, I fantasized about it, but I'd never been able to start a single session.

Ironsworn is intimidating. It's a PbtA system, thought and made to be played alone, and God only knows HOW MUCH I NEEDED SOMETHING LIKE THIS. Because as "old player" (I started playing RPGs in 1992). Over the years I've had the chance to play in some amazing groups. The problem is that when you reach such a high playing quality, it's really hard to settle for playing with bad players. (I know this is controversial, but that's how it is. Let me be clear: play quality has nothing to do with experience, but it has a lot to do with the will to play and forge stories and experiences rather than indulge in revenge fantasies and toxic traits).

Let's get back on tracks: what's intimidating in Ironsworn is the "envision concept". It's actually really simple (at least once you grasp it) but geez, the first time you read the system, everything seems so metaphysical that it's overwhelming.   

Well, it took me almost two years to gather the courage and actually try to play. To be precise, I had to discover that Shawn - the author - published a sci-fi version of the game called Starforged. That was too much. I'm a sci-fi freak (even if i covered myself in tibetan and old norse tattoos) and I couldn't miss such a chance. So I tried...and it worked.

And it's really easier than you might imagine.

That's precisely why I'm writing now: I want to share my experience, and I'd like to do it with a full play report of my Ironsworn solo campaign, "The Badger's song". It's the story of Kiril the Badger, a gritty adventurer born and raised in a small fishing village on the Ragged Coast.

I hope that you'll enjoy his adventures as much as I'm doing.

Oh, and please, be kind and consider that english is not my native language. I'm doing my best.

I'll use some conventions:

in plain text I'll be narrating the story from Kiril's perspective

in bold text I'll report game mechanics and rolls and declare MOVES in CAPITAL LETTERS.

In italics I'll write either Kiril's thougts and some play consideration and meta-decisions.

*Example: Kiril cautiously approaches the abandoned outpost. The only sounds are the distant waves and the wind whispering through the ruins. This place doesn't feel right, thought Kiril.
I'm going to FACE DANGER to see if I can discern the nature of this threat. Roll +Edge (Spirit): - WEAK HIT!
The threat manifests as a pack of skeletal wolves emerge from the shadows.