I'm so sorry, Itchio didn't notify me of this message 💔
First off, thank you so much for taking the time to write such an in-depth post! I really, really appreciate it. Iron Valley is still in development so there are rough edges for sure.
To answer your questions,
1) On the contradiction between How to Have a Job and Your Truths. This wording issue was not intended, thank you so much for pointing it out!
2) On the issue that Root Around and Let's Make a Deal do not provide progress towards a promise. This is a very valid piece of feedback. Thank you. My gut feeling tells me that the most immediate fix would be making it so all moves grant +2 progress on a strong hit and +1 on a weak hit. Seeing as how Time Passes is universal across all moves (happening on a weak hit or miss), moving the progress-making mechanic would, if anything, provide more symmetry between all moves. Thank you so much for pointing this out.
3) On Let's Make a Deal. I completely agree that the move is not clear enough. Again, I really appreciate the feedback. Version 1.2 is coming a lot sooner than I expecting, and I will expedite a clearer explanation of this move, along with any mechanical changes it might need.
4) On The Make a Promise chart. Although this may be a little counter-intuitive, seeing as how a laid-back promise asks for less progress boxes than an urgent or critical promise. This is working as intended. The idea behind making more urgent promises ask for more boxes is to reflect the time investment required to bring them to conclusion. A laid-back task like growing a simple crop (say, lettuce), makes sense because there is little time investment pressure. Those lettuces will get done when they get done. Now say something like hosting a birthday party for your crush is a lot more urgent, it for one has a deadline and a lot of moving pieces you have to coordinate. The higher number of boxes reflects the time investment pressure. Although I recognize the counter-intuitiveness things are working as intended. Laid-back tasks of low complexity ask for only a few progress boxes while critical tasks of high complexity ask for the most. All of this being said, the number of boxes is a suggestion of a promise's projected completion time. As per the move Reap the Benefits, you are allowed to complete a promise at any time. What you earn is based on the number of boxes fully filled. And, as mentioned in the book, you can fill more boxes if you want (or less). I didn't mean to go so long on this point. Maybe there's a way to phrase that chart in a way to clear this confusion. I'll think on it!
Once again, thank you so much for your feedback--and sorry it took me so long to reply! 🙇♀️💕💕