Ironsworn: Starforged vs Traveller
Compare Ironsworn: Starforged and Traveller side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Ironsworn: Starforged | Traveller | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi | Scifi |
| Play Style | Narrative, Solo-Friendly, Sandbox, Exploration, Fiction-First, Theater of the Mind, Worldbuilding, Character-Driven, Open Source, Random Tables | Sandbox, Simulation, Exploration, Deadly, Character Building, Faction Play |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 1d6 (action die) + stat vs. two d10 challenge dice. Beat both = strong hit, beat one = weak hit, beat neither = miss. Momentum meter (-6 to +10) can be burned to replace your action score. Moves resolve fiction; progress tracks measure quests, expeditions, and combat. Oracle tables generate story prompts for solo and co-op play. | Roll 2d6 + skill + modifier ≥ 8 to succeed. Character generation is a mini-game. |
| Dice | d6 + 2d10 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 | Traveller Fair Use Policy |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Tomkin Press / Modiphius Entertainment | Mongoose Publishing |
| Year | 2022 | 2022 |
| Best For | Solo or small-group sci-fi campaigns driven by sworn vows, with rich oracle tables, starship exploration, and collaborative worldbuilding: no GM required. | Hard sci-fi sandbox campaigns with trading, exploration, and realistic space travel. |
| Highlights | Strong solo RPG design, 'Choose Your Truths' worldbuilding tailors the setting, large oracle chapter for emergent story, momentum system creates dramatic tension, three flexible play modes (solo/co-op/guided) | Comprehensive sci-fi toolkit, lifepath character creation, detailed trade/travel systems |
| Considerations | Dense 400-page rulebook despite narrative focus, large move count to internalize, setting is human-centric by default, oracle-driven play can produce disjointed narratives without careful interpretation | Lifepath character creation can produce unplayable results, subsystem rules are spread across multiple supplements, steep buy-in if using official sourcebooks |