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Welcome to the Ironbound System Reference Document (SRD), the foundational rulebook and design framework for a medieval-themed fantasy tabletop role-playing game built for modern tables.
Whether you are a Game Master crafting a gritty, lived-in world of high fantasy and low coin, or a player looking to forge an unforgettable hero, Ironbound offers a streamlined, flexible engine designed to keep the focus where it belongs: on the story, the choices, and the roll of the dice.
What Sets Ironbound Apart?
Traditional tabletop RPGs often bog down tables in complex math, rigid character silos, and restrictive licensing. Ironbound takes a fresh approach, defined by five core pillars:
Fixed Target Numbers and Five Degrees of Success: Say goodbye to complex situational modifiers. Ironbound uses fixed target numbers paired with a nuanced five-tier degree of success system, meaning every roll tells a vivid story of marginal success, outright triumph, or catastrophic failure.
Favour and Slight System: Rather than having to remember dozens of modifiers to dice rolls, or worry about categories and avoiding game-breaking levels of stacked numbers, Ironbound uses a system of rolling and discarding additional dice. This shifts the average result, without moving the highest or lowest.
Frictionless Multi-Classing: Character concepts should never be boxed in by arbitrary class restrictions. Ironbound features fluid, easy-to-use multi-classing rules that let you blend archetypes organically as your character evolves.
Diverse and Expansive Backgrounds: Who your character was before they picked up a sword or a spellbook matters. A broad, rich list of backgrounds provides immediate narrative depth, practical skills, and deep ties to the world.
Accessible Magic: Magic in Ironbound is potent, intuitive, and easy to run. It avoids cumbersome tracking or overly dense rules layers, allowing spellcasters to weave arcane and divine wonders smoothly into play.
Open Access (CC-BY License): Ironbound is built for the community. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license, creators, homebrewers, and publishers are empowered to build upon, hack, and share their own worlds and supplements using the system.
Dive into the rules ahead to build your characters, master the mechanics, and bring your medieval fantasy campaigns to life!