Greetings,

Came across this old gem of a game called IronHedge. In it, Players control a party of Adventurers as opposed to controlling a single character. It was designed to be a small pick up game that was simple in comparison the D&D that existed in 1980. That being said, the source material is probably too offensive to make a comeback. It's the system though, that's what I want to discuss.

This game offers something I only see in a few places that I'm aware of. An adventure grit and glory. Your characters and all but the anomalous of creatures can receive mortal blows, which kill that Adventurer/Creature instantly. This made for gameplay that always left Players and GM (known as Referee in IronHedge) on edge. It added a real sense of risk vs. reward in gameplay. Now these rules can certainly be modded to be more friendly sure, but I think that misses the point. To boot, the game is extremely easy to adapt and make your own. And since it no longer exists in anything except obscurity, almost no one can find any resources to seek out and find other people to play this with. (I'm hitting walls here!)

Is there anything else out there that is similar? Am I dreaming bigger than I'm seeing? Almost everywhere I look features detailed, on the rails, extensively story driven content. I'm trying to appeal to the hack and slashers out there.

-Why this thread-
Trying to brain storm here. More minds/perspectives=good. Thanks in advance.

-Update-
I think I figured out what my deal is. I'm trying to find players in an environment that is rich with players seeking some grand adventure, some deep lore dive of some kind. D&D and other systems more or less do this in lot's of different ways. What IronHedge is, and always was supposed to be, a quick roll up and go RPG. So I shouldn't deter from that. Thanks for the insights everyone!

Five Parsecs from Home/Five Leagues from the Borderlands might fit that bill.  These are skirmish games with RPG elements and a campaign system.

I'll definitely take the time to look. Perhaps even though I wish to run an rpg that I might be posting on the wrong sites looking for players. Perhaps I should look at freestyle board games.

Thanks!

Quote from: Tenacity on June 03, 2022, 10:41:00 PMIn it, Players control a party of Adventurers as opposed to controlling a single character.

How, exactly, does this work? Is this strictly a two player game (player+GM)? If there are multiple players, do their parties travel together in some sort of super-party?

Either way, how is it different than just a normal RPG where each player plays multiple characters?

The closest RPG I can think of off the top of my head is Savage Worlds which is not a d20 system and it does not have Hit Points but has a wound system.

All PC's and nastier monsters can withstand 3 wounds before expiring and all the standard monsters and npc's can only take 1 wound.   

With a big enough damage roll, you could take 3 wounds and be taken out with a single hit.   

If you haven't played Savage Worlds, I suggest you check it out.   It is a very versatile rule system that you can play Super heroes or Sci-fi Space setting or cyber punk or a High Fantasy setting or a Weird West setting (like Deadlands).   You can even run a Stargate like setting and travel to distant worlds where each planet has its own level of magic, powers and tech.   

Quote from: hedgehobbit on June 04, 2022, 10:42:05 AM

Quote from: Tenacity on June 03, 2022, 10:41:00 PMIn it, Players control a party of Adventurers as opposed to controlling a single character.

How, exactly, does this work? Is this strictly a two player game (player+GM)? If there are multiple players, do their parties travel together in some sort of super-party?

Either way, how is it different than just a normal RPG where each player plays multiple characters?

You kind of got it. If there were multiple players, they would form a super party and then decide if the game is cut throat or not. (Cutthroat meaning you can attack and steal from each other.) The biggest difference would be the general fragility of living creatures. Men start with 7 LP, Dwarves 6, Elves 5. A sword does D8 points of damage, you absorb damage from your armor. Any maximum rolls (An 8 on D8 for instance) Results in a nasty blow. This is then rolled on a corresponding chart that denotes areas of humanoid anatomy (Head,Neck,Arms,Legs,Chest,Back). Depending on the weapon it could sever a limb or it's simply a mortal blow (max damage to neck=head cut off).

In short, if no plot armor is given to characters, they die and often. But so does the opposition. The object then becomes to build up party wealth in order to better your chances with new party members. And if you get high level characters it will not be because they posses a class that makes them far greater than the average bumkin but rather it will be luck and skill that makes these characters. This of course assumes I use in the book rules no modifications. This game is very easy to adapt and as such has a supplement for Wild West, Inner City and Futuristic Science Fiction game play as well.

Quote from: Krugus on June 04, 2022, 10:47:17 AM
The closest RPG I can think of off the top of my head is Savage Worlds which is not a d20 system and it does not have Hit Points but has a wound system.

All PC's and nastier monsters can withstand 3 wounds before expiring and all the standard monsters and npc's can only take 1 wound.   

With a big enough damage roll, you could take 3 wounds and be taken out with a single hit.   

If you haven't played Savage Worlds, I suggest you check it out.   It is a very versatile rule system that you can play Super heroes or Sci-fi Space setting or cyber punk or a High Fantasy setting or a Weird West setting (like Deadlands).   You can even run a Stargate like setting and travel to distant worlds where each planet has its own level of magic, powers and tech.

Thanks! I'll definately give it a look. Looked for Five Parcs earlier, no luck.

You can find "Five Parsecs from Home" 3ed here:
https://www.modiphius.net/en-us/products/five-parsecs-from-home

The 3rd edition of "Five Leagues from the Borderlands"
https://www.modiphius.net/en-us/products/five-leagues-from-the-borderlands?
is to be released soon. Buying the prerelease gives access to the PDF right now.

The 2nd edition is certainly playable but there have been notable updates to the campaign system in the 3rd.

Thanks for the input. I know I'm new (to forums also) but this was actually helpful in helping me understand where I went wrong.

Game on friends, Game on