How to Run a Solo Starforged Campaign: Setup to Vows

By Modiphius US | Published: 2026-10-16

Category: How-to Guides

Set up a solo Ironsworn: Starforged campaign step by step, from choosing assets and framing vows to reading oracle tables and keeping a journal that pushes play forward.

Quick answer

Run a solo Starforged campaign by treating the rulebook as a conversation partner: create one character with a clear background vow, pick three starting assets, then let oracle rolls answer every question the fiction leaves open. Keep a short journal so each session ends with an unfinished thread, and scale your progress tracks honestly rather than skipping the rolls that create tension.

Choose assets that match the story you want to tell

Starforged assets are the mechanical identity of your character, so pick them after you decide what kind of trouble you want to get into. A Path asset such as a smuggler or a scrapper pushes scenes toward negotiation and risk, while a Module asset tied to your ship or a companion shifts play toward exploration and upkeep. Take three assets at the start unless your chosen background demands otherwise, and read each one's trigger text before committing. If an asset's move never seems to come up, that is a signal your scenes are drifting away from the character you built.

Frame a background vow that gives the campaign a spine

Your background vow is the long arc that keeps a solo campaign from becoming a series of disconnected encounters. Write it as a single sentence with a clear object and a reason it matters, then set its rank honestly. A background vow at an extreme rank is a campaign-length goal, while a troublesome vow resolves in a handful of sessions. Vows and progress work together: you mark progress when the fiction shows real advancement, and you roll to resolve only when the story reaches a decisive moment.

Use oracle tables as a prompt, not a script

Solo RPG oracle tables exist to answer yes-or-no questions and to inject unexpected detail when you would otherwise stall. Ask a specific question, roll, then interpret the result through what your character already knows. The most common mistake is asking vague questions like 'is it dangerous?' and then accepting the first bland answer. Instead, ask 'does the docking clamp release before the patrol scans us?' and let a strong hit or miss change the scene's direction. When an oracle result contradicts established fiction, keep the fiction and reroll or reinterpret.

Keep a journal that ends mid-scene

Solo RPG journaling is not a novel draft; it is a memory aid. Record the vow, the roll, and the consequence in two or three lines, then stop. Ending a session with an unresolved question, such as a signal you have not identified or a contact who has not answered, gives you an immediate entry point next time. If you write long prose passages, you will spend your session writing instead of playing, and the momentum that makes solo play work will drain away.

Track progress and momentum without fudging

Progress tracks and momentum are the pacing engine of Starforged. Mark progress only when the fiction clearly advances the vow, and spend momentum when a roll would otherwise end the character's story in a way you do not want to play out. The temptation in solo play is to ignore a bad roll because no one is watching. Resist it: a miss that complicates the scene is usually more interesting than a success that confirms what you already expected. If a result genuinely breaks the campaign, use the rules for rerolling or adjust the fiction rather than quietly erasing the outcome.

Solo Starforged campaign setup steps

Write your character concept in one sentence: Decide who the character is and what they want before touching the asset list. A concept like 'a disgraced courier who smuggles medicine to a blockaded moon' tells you which assets and vows fit. Common mistake: building the sheet first and inventing a personality to match the numbers. Checkpoint: if you cannot say the concept out loud in one breath, simplify it.
Select three assets and note their triggers: Pick assets that support the concept, then copy the trigger conditions onto your sheet so you notice when they apply. If you choose a ship module, decide what the ship looks like and what it cannot do. Common mistake: choosing assets for raw power rather than for the scenes you actually want to play. Checkpoint: every asset should suggest at least one scene you are excited to run.
Set your background vow and rank: Write the vow as a concrete objective with a reason attached, then assign a rank that matches how long you want the campaign to run. A rank that is too high stalls progress; too low and the vow resolves before the character has changed. Common mistake: making the background vow so abstract that you cannot tell when progress has been earned. Checkpoint: you should be able to name the next physical step toward the vow.
Establish the starting situation with one oracle roll: Ask where the character is and what immediate pressure they face, then roll on an oracle table and interpret the result. This gives you a live scene instead of a blank page. Common mistake: rolling several tables in a row and trying to reconcile contradictory prompts before play begins. Checkpoint: you should have a location, a problem, and someone who wants something.
Play one scene and mark progress only when earned: Run a single scene, make the moves the fiction calls for, and mark progress on the vow only if the scene genuinely advanced it. Keep the journal entry to a few lines. Common mistake: resolving the vow too early because the scene felt important rather than because the fiction showed real progress. Checkpoint: end the session with an open question you want to answer next time.

Useful products for solo Starforged play

Star Trek Adventures - Second Edition - Exploration Guide: The Star Trek Adventures Second Edition Exploration Guide is a setting and exploration book built around the theme of discovery, with a foreword framing exploration as Star Trek's central storytelling vehicle. If you enjoy the exploration-and-discovery loop of solo Starforged, this guide offers a different system's take on the same creative muscle, useful for solo players who want to borrow scene prompts or run a second campaign.
Fallout: The Roleplaying Game Dice Set: The Fallout: The Roleplaying Game Dice Set includes a 20-sided Hit Location die, two 20-sided dice with the VaultTec logo on the 1 face, and six-sided Damage Dice showing Vault-Tec branding. Solo play often needs more dice than a group session because you roll for both sides of a scene; a dedicated set keeps oracle rolls, damage, and location results separate so you are not hunting for the right die mid-scene.