Logging Your Ironsworn Campaign: A Lonelog Guide

How I Log The Redemption of Brynn

Introduction

Ever since the first release of Lonelog (back when it was still called “Solo TTRPG Notation”) I’ve been wanting to really put it to use, and to some extent, I’ve succeeded in doing so, but more often than not, I’ve only used it for small parts of the logging, and I couldn’t really put my finger on why.

Then zeruhur released some add-ons for it, detailing how to notate Combat and Dungeon crawling (among others), and suddenly it clicked—I was hesitant to commit fully because I didn’t have a comprehensive guide how to use it with the system of my choice: Ironsworn. Sure, there’s a brief section on the core book detailing system-specific roll notation, and I’ve made a couple of pull requests myself to improve upon them, but in the end, they were simply not enough for me to feel comfortable.

So obviously, I made the only thing a sane person in my position would do, and wrote a detailed guide with examples of how to log basically everything you’d want to log during your Ironsworn adventures, and to top it off, I threw in a full log of the first three sessions of my own Ironsworn campaign, The Redemption of Brynn, retroactively logged using the examples detailed below.

Interested? Read on, but please—if you find this article helpful, it would warm my heart if you would push that subscribe button. It’s completely free.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

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How to use this guide

My aim when writing this was to be as faithful to the Lonelog core as possible.

As I wrote, there’s a full example of the first three sessions of my Ironsworn campaign at the end of this article. In it, I will explain the relevant details for each of the things I use myself when notating my Ironsworn plays.

The examples provided below will be using the same stats and assets that the main character of my ongoing campaign, Brynn has:

[PC:Brynn
	| stat: Iron 3, Edge 1, Wits 2, Heart 2, Shadow 1 
	| Health 5, Spirit 5, Supply 5, Momentum 2
	| asset: Companion (hound), Ironclad, Wright
	| exiled, faithless
]

Note that not every move needs a dice roll—sometimes the outcome is obvious, or you’ve already decided what happens narratively. In those cases, you can note the move and its outcome without a d: line. The examples in this guide reflect actual play, including sessions logged retroactively, so you’ll see both rolled and unrolled moves throughout. For example, most of my Pay the Price resolutions are done without dice rolls.

Action rolls

At the heart of Ironsworn lies the fiction. And when you envision what your character does, sometimes that action triggers a so called Move. Moves are recorded in the notation as follows:

@ Swear an Iron Vow (find Ashvine, save Keelan)
d: Action=5+Heart=2=7 vs Challenge=1,6 -> Strong Hit

If you have extra adds, be it from assets or bonuses from previous moves, record them after the name of the move:

@ Gather Information (+1 from Marou's keen senses)
d: Action=2+Wits=2+1=5 vs Challenge=3,2 -> Strong Hit

Progress tracks

You’ll use the Track keyword from Lonelog core to track your progress in Ironsworn, be it your vows, journeys, combats or delves. They all follow the same convention, which has some slight additions to the core: You’ll want to note the name of the track, the type (vow, journey, combat, delve), rank and progress. In addition, Delve tracks will also want to make note of the theme and domain. Combats are fought against Foes, so here we use the F: notation with a progress track at the end.

[Track:Find Ashvine|Vow|Formidable|0/10]
[Track:Search for Ashvine|Journey|Troublesome|0/10]
[Track:Alpha Varou Lair|Delve|Troublesome|Wild Ruin|0/10]
[F:Broken|Combat|Formidable|0/10]

As you make progress with your vows, you’ll only update the progress section of the already established tracks, unless something changes—these exceptions are detailed further down below with examples of each of the different type of tracks.

[Track:Find Ashvine|2/10]
[Track:Search for Ashvine|3/10]
[Track:Alpha Varou Lair|3/10]
[F:Broken|3/10]

Vows

When you Swear an Iron Vow, make sure to document what the vow is about, the roll and any consequences thereof, then initialize the track:

@ Swear an Iron Vow (find Ashvine, save Keelan)
d: Action=5+Heart=2=7 vs Challenge=1,6 -> Strong Hit
=> +2 momentum
[PC:Brynn|Momentum 4]
[Track:Find Ashvine|Vow|Formidable|0/10]

Update the track whenever you progress your vow:

@ Gather Information
d: Action=4+Wits=2=6 vs Challenge=3,3 -> Strong Hit (Match!)
=> +2 momentum
=> Reach a Milestone
[PC:Brynn|Momentum 6]
[Track:Find Ashvine|1/10]

At some point you’ve gained enough progress to attempt to finish the quest. This example assumes you’re at 8/10 total progress in your vow. Note that even though we use d: notation here, you only roll the Challenge dice—the Progress score replaces the Action score entirely.

@ Fulfill Your Vow
d: Progress=8 vs Challenge=5,7 -> Strong Hit
=> [Track:Find Ashvine|Complete]
=> [PC:Brynn|XP 3]

Sometimes, things might not go your way, and you’ll be forced to reset your progress and raise the rank of the quest:

@ Fulfill Your Vow
d: Progress=8 vs Challenge=10,9 -> Miss
=> Recommit -> Raise rank by 1, clear all but 1 progress
=> [Track:Find Ashvine|Extreme|1/10]

Or if you feel you’ve had enough, it might be time to call it quits. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether you want to mark the Track as complete, abandoned or something else.

@ Forsake Your Vow
=> [Track:Find Ashvine|Complete]
=> -3 Spirit
=> [PC:Brynn|Spirit 2]
=> Endure Stress

@ Endure Stress
d: Action=5+Heart=2=7 vs Challenge=4,6 -> Strong Hit
=> Shake it off -> Momentum -1, Spirit +1
[PC:Brynn|Momentum 1|Spirit 3]

If you want, you can elect to be more specific and record the available options, too, before noting what you chose:

@ Fulfill Your Vow
d: Progress=8 vs Challenge=10,9 -> Miss
=> Recommit or Forsake Your Vow
=> Recommit -> Raise rank by 1, clear all but 1 progress
[Track:Find Ashvine|Extreme|1/10]

I typically avoid doing that—since I’ve played so long, I mostly remember the available options anyway, and I’d rather have a concise log.

Adventure moves

When you start a new journey somewhere, you need to track your progress, again with a Lonelog track. Below are some examples of creating the track, then progressing it by making the move Undertake a Journey.

[Track:Search for Ashvine|Journey|Troublesome|0/10]

@ Undertake a Journey
d: Action=3+Wits=2=5 vs Challenge=1,3 -> Strong Hit
=> Make good use of your resources -> Mark progress
[Track:Search for Ashvine|3/10]

@ Undertake a Journey
d: Action=1+Wits=2=3 vs Challenge=1,8 -> Weak Hit
=> Mark progress, but suffer -1 Supply
[PC:Brynn|Supply 4]
[Track:Search for Ashvine|6/10]

@ Undertake a Journey
d: Action=6+Wits=2=8 vs Challenge=3,7 -> Strong Hit
=> Move at speed -> Mark progress, gain +1 Momentum but suffer -1 Supply
[PC:Brynn|Momentum 9|Supply 3]
[Track:Search for Ashvine|9/10]

As you’ve filled your progress track for the journey, eventually you’ll feel like you’ve arrived where you need to be. This triggers the Progress move called Reach Your Destination, where you only roll the Challenge dice. The Action value is replaced by your accrued progress.

@ Reach Your Destination
d: Progress=9 vs Challenge=4,8 -> Strong Hit
=> +1 Momentum
[PC:Brynn|Momentum 10]

But of course, things don’t always go to plan even with high progress. Note that I’ve just chosen “you were misled” and I also chose to continue the journey, resulting in rank increase of the track from Troublesome to Dangerous and Progress reset from 9/10 -> 1/10.

@ Reach Your Destination
d: Progress=9 vs Challenge=10,10 -> Miss (Match!)
=> You were misled -> if journey continues, raise rank by 1 and reset all but 1 progress
[Track:Search for Ashvine|Dangerous|1/10]

Combat and Suffer moves

When you run into hostiles, you’ll eventually have to fight it out. When you do, it’s good to know how to easily notate those fight scenes. Instead of Threat level, we designate the Rank of the foe, and leverage the Lonelog Tracks to track the progress.

[F:Broken|Combat|Formidable|0/10]

@ Enter the Fray (facing off)
d: Action=3+Heart=2=5 vs Challenge=6,8 -> Miss
=> Pay the Price -> Current situation worsens
=> Foe has initiative.

@ Face Danger (Attempting to deflect the incoming strike)
d: Action=1+Iron=3=4 vs Challenge=7,8 -> Miss
=> Pay the Price -> It is harmful, -3 Health
=> [PC:Brynn|Health 2]
=> Foe retains initiative.

@ Endure Harm
d: Action=2+Iron=3=5 vs Challenge=4,8 -> Weak Hit
=> Press on.

@ Clash (foe has initiative, close quarters)
d: Action=4+Iron=3=7 vs Challenge=8,9 -> Miss
=> Burn Momentum: 10 > Challenge=8,9 -> Strong Hit
=> Reset Momentum
=> +1 Harm. 3 harm (deadly weapon) -> mark 3 Progress. Gain initiative.
[Track:Broken|3/10]
[PC:Brynn|Momentum 2]

@ Strike (Got initiative, close quarters)
d: Action=6+Iron=3=9 vs Challenge=2,4 -> Strong Hit
=> +1 harm. 3 harm (deadly weapon) -> mark 3 Progress. Retain initiative.
[Track:Broken|6/10]

@ End the Fight
d: Progress=6 vs Challenge=3,5 -> Strong Hit
=> Broken is no longer in the fight.
[F:Broken|defeated]

Pay the Price

This is a bit special, since usually, you should make the most obvious negative outcome happen, so you wouldn’t roll on any table and the result would just look something like this:

@ Pay the Price -> It is stressful
=> -1 Spirit
[PC:Brynn|Spirit 4]

And afterwards, you’d do the Endure Stress move as normal. But sometimes, you might want to roll on the Pay the Price table instead:

@ Pay the Price
tbl: d100=25 -> "Something of value is lost or destroyed."
=> Brynn lost his satchel after losing his balance when he was wading the raging river.

Oracles

Both the base game of Ironsworn and its expansion, Delve, comes packed with a myriad of Oracle tables, so let’s take a look at how to notate the use of them. The dice notation d% means d100, it’s up to you which one you want to use. Popular ones are for example the Action / Theme combination and the Quick settlement name:

gen: Action / Theme d%=78 + 11 -> Arrive / Leader
gen: Settlement name d%=42 + 31 -> Whitestone

Or you might want to generate an NPC with a bunch of stuff:

gen: NPC
	Name: d%=39 -> Kuno
	Role: d%=85 -> Raider
	Goal: d%=22 -> Harm a rival
	Descriptor: d%=45 -> Bitter
=> [N:Kuno|Bitter Raider|Seeks revenge]

For Oracle questions resolved by dice, just follow the Lonelog core:

? Did Ashvine talk to these people?
d: d%=17 vs 50 (50/50) -> No

? Do the Crimson Cinders have powerful allies?
d: d%=88 vs 25 (Likely) -> Yes

Oracles in Sundered Isles

I think the latest entry in the Ironsworn series warrants its own subtitle here, as it introduced the Cursed Oracle mechanic. What it means is, whenever you roll on an Oracle table with a skull icon, you’d roll an extra d10 as a “Curse die.” By default, a 10 on the Cursed die triggers the Cursed result, though this range can be expanded; if you do, I recommend adding it to your Campaign Headers.

? Settlement details
tbl: Oracle=17, Cursed=4 -> "Another people once lived in this place, but abandoned it for reasons unknown"

? Settlement details
tbl: Oracle=70, Cursed=10 -> Cursed: "An ancient altar is stained with blood"

title: Piracy - it's a crime
ruleset: Sundered Isles
genre: Swashbuckling
player: everhaunted
pcs: Nassar [PC:Nassar|Health 5|Momentum 5]
start_date: 26.5.2026
last_update: 26.5.2026
tools: Iron Atlas
cursed_range: 8-10
themes: Revenge
tone: Tongue in cheek
notes: Pirates of the Caribbean

? Overland details
tbl: Oracle=83, Cursed=8 -> Cursed: "Carnivorous plants consume a corpse"

Debilities

These are pretty straightforward to use with the core Lonelog format, as you can simply add or remove tags based on if you meet the requirements. This is done by adding + or - before the tag name.

For the examples detailed below, assume that Brynn has 1 Supply. The reason for decreasing his supply is arbitrary, and can of course happen as a result of various other reasons other than what I’ve shown here.

@ Pay the Price -> It is wasteful
=> -1 Supply
[PC:Brynn|Supply 0|+Unprepared]

After a while, you’ve made it to the relative safety of a village, and can attempt to clear the debility:

@ Sojourn
d: Action=3+Heart=2=5 vs Challenge=4,3 -> Strong Hit
=> Clear a Condition -> Equip
=> Clear Unprepared debility and take +1 Supply
[PC:Brynn|Supply 1|-Unprepared]

Delves

If you’re using the Delve expansion, you probably want to track delve progress in the notation. To help with this, we can leverage the Dungeon add-on to make note of the rooms. Delve progress uses the Track mechanic, and as usual, you’ll want to note the type (delve) and the rank of the site as well as the theme and domain which you’ll mark when you Discover a Site.

The notation is quite dense for Delve the Depths, as you’ll often roll on at least one table, sometimes multiple. You’ll find some examples of it below:

@ Discover a Site
[Track:Alpha Varou Lair|Delve|Troublesome|Wild Ruin|0/10]

@ Delve the Depths
tbl: Wild Ruin: d%=7 -> "Territorial markings"
d: Action=4+Wits=2=6 vs Challenge=8,3 -> Weak Hit
tbl: Delve (Wits): d%=57 -> "Mark Progress or Find an Opportunity"
=> Mark Progress
[Track:Alpha Varou Lair|3/10]

@ Delve the Depths
d: Action=5+Shadow=1=6 vs Challenge=2,1 -> Strong Hit
=> Mark Progress and Find an Opportunity
[Track:Alpha Varou Lair|6/10]
tbl: Find an Opportunity: d%=13 -> Found a hidden path, +1 to next move

@ Delve the Depths (+1 from Find an Opportunity)
d: Action=4+Edge=1+1=6 vs Challenge=3,4 -> Strong Hit
=> Mark Progress and Find an Opportunity
[Track:Alpha Varou Lair|9/10]
=> Find an Opportunity -> "You get the drop on a denizen"

Note! A few errors snuck in here but I’m leaving them as they are in my original campaign. Check the footnote for details if you’re interested.¹

Full campaign example

For the purposes of offering a full example, I’ve retroactively “lonelogged” the first few sessions of my Ironsworn campaign. In the code block below, you see what Lonelog core refers to as the Campaign Header. Inside, you’ll see an example of how to split characters with multiple stats and other information into multiline, which makes it far more readable than having every single thing just divided by the pipe character | .

Below the Campaign Header is then the Session Header, which has details about when I played the session, what scenes was played out, how long it took and a recap of the whole session.

Lastly, we have the actual Scenes. All game mechanic related stuff goes into its own code block, whereas dialogue and stuff is left outside of it. As you can see, I’ll jot down the bare minimum when it comes to the dialogue, just so I know I can remember later when I re-read my notes, what I was thinking in the moment. This helps keep the notes somewhat concise while still allowing me to play out the scene before fully narrating it instead of narrating while I play.

I decided to continue the numbering of the scenes from where I left off in the previous session, though it’s up to you how to handle it.

title: The Redemption of Brynn
ruleset: Ironsworn + Delve
genre: Fantasy
player: everhaunted
pcs: Brynn
[PC:Brynn
	| stat: Iron 3, Edge 1, Wits 2, Heart 2, Shadow 1 
	| Health 5, Spirit 5, Supply 5, Momentum 2
	| asset: Companion (hound), Ironclad, Wright
	| exiled, faithless
]
[N:Marou|Companion|Hound|Health 4]
start_date: 22.4.2025
last_update: 12.4.2026
themes: Religion, redemption arc
tone: Grimdark

Session 1

*Date: 24.4.2025 / Duration: 2h / Scenes: S1-S2*

**Recap:** First session, introducing Brynn and his first vow: to find Ashvine the Mystic

**Goals:** Set up the background vow, establish who Brynn is and what he's about

S1 Willa’s forge, Hollowmere

Brynn is sitting in Willa’s forge, when Marou alerts him that someone is coming.

[L:Hollowmere|Faithless settlement|Havens]
[N:Willa|Blacksmith|Hostile to Iron Faith]
[N:Morgan|Messenger|Bleakbarrow]

N (Morgan): “Iron Priest of Bleakbarrow, Sarria, requests your urgent aid.”
PC (Brynn): “I could use the coin...”

@ Accepts and follows Morgan to Bleakbarrow, motivated by coin.
=> Willa disapproves.

S2 Bleakbarrow - the chapel, late at night

Brynn, Marou and Morgan arrive at Bleakbarrow late. Asha, the guard lets them inside the walls.

[L:Bleakbarrow|Circle settlement|Iron Faith]
[N:Asha|Guard|Pragmatic|Disciplined]
[L:Bleakbarrow chapel|Old|Unsettling]

Asha guides Brynn to the chapel. The place is unsettling—echoes of Ravenmoor and Brynn’s exile. Sarria the Iron Priest and his son Keelan are introduced.

[N:Sarria|Iron Priest|Desperate]
[N:Keelan|Son of Sarria|Deathly ill]

N (Sarria): “Find a cure for Keelan by locating the mystic in exile, Ashvine. In return, I’ll speak to the Iron for you.”

[N:Ashvine|Mystic|Elusive]
@ Swear an Iron Vow (find Ashvine, save Keelan)
d: Action=5+Heart=2=7 vs Challenge=1,6 -> Strong Hit
=> +2 momentum
[PC:Brynn|Momentum 4]
[Track:Find Ashvine|Vow|Formidable|0/10]
[Thread:Help Keelan|Open]

Here, I elected to open both a Track AND a Thread because I don’t know yet whether Brynn will find Ashvine nor if she’s even willing to help him out.

Session 2

*Date: 25.4.2025 / Duration: 1h30 / Scenes: S3-S4*

**Recap:** Brynn asks Willa for clues about Ashvine, but gets a hostile response, and leaves Hollowmere none the wiser. Morgan appears and says he might know where she is.

**Goals:** Find clues about Ashvine's whereabouts

S3 Willa’s Forge, Hollowmere

After spending the night in Asha’s bunk in Bleakbarrow, Brynn decides to return to Hollowmere to search for clues, since exiles are generally not tolerated in settlements ruled by Iron Priests.

@ Brynn asks Willa about Ashvine
=> Willa responds with hostility, denies any knowledge
[Thread:Willa's and Ashvine's past|Open]

? Does he know anyone else in Hollowmere who knows Ashvine?
d: d%=42 vs 50 (50/50) -> No

Disappointed, without leads, Brynn leaves Hollowmere, but is stopped by Morgan, the messenger boy.

S4 The road north, outside Hollowmere

N (Morgan): “I think Ashvine might be in Whiterock Ruin.”
PC (Brynn): “Where is it?”
N (Morgan): “Up there, in Tempest Hills, just north of Hollowmere.”

[L:Whiterock Ruin|Tempest Hills|Sacred site]
@ Reach a Milestone (Morgan reveals Whiterock Ruin as a likely location)
[Track:Find Ashvine|1/10]
=> With no other leads, Brynn decides to journey to Whiterock Ruin
[Track:Trek to Whiterock Ruin|Journey|Troublesome|0/10]

Session 3

*Date: 26.4.2025 / Duration: 2h30 / Scenes: S5-S6*

**Recap:** After a harrowing trek, Brynn makes his way to Whiterock Ruin, only to find that Ashvine is not there. But someone else is...

**Goals:** Get to Whiterock Ruin

S5 Journey to Whiterock Ruin, Tempest Hills

With renewed purpose, Brynn sets off towards Whiterock Ruin.

@ Undertake a Journey
d: Action=3+Wits=2=5 vs Challenge=6,7 -> Miss
=> Pay the Price -> A new danger or foe is revealed

An hour into the journey, Brynn finds varou tracks, and decides to take a detour, wasting precious time.

@ Undertake a Journey
d: Action=1+Wits=2=3 vs Challenge=5,4 -> Miss
=> Pay the Price -> -1 Spirit, -1 Supply
[PC:Brynn|Spirit 4|Supply 4]

The terrain was harder and slower to navigate, resulting in loss of both supplies and spirit.

@ Undertake a Journey
d: Action=1+Wits=2=3 vs Challenge=2,1 -> Strong Hit
=> Move at speed -> +1 Momentum, -1 Supply
[PC:Brynn|Momentum 5|Supply 3]
[Track:Trek to Whiterock Ruin|3/10]

Brynn found a landmark Morgan had mentioned, confirming he was on the right path.

@ Undertake a Journey
d: Action=2+Wits=2=4 vs Challenge=6,6 -> Miss (Match!)
=> Pay the Price -> It is stressful
=> -2 Spirit
[PC:Brynn|Spirit 2]

@ Endure Stress
d: Action=6+Heart=2=8 vs Challenge=3,7 -> Strong Hit
=> Embrace the darkness -> +1 Momentum
[PC:Brynn|Momentum 6]

Brynn got lost, and his subconscious started telling him he’ll fail Keelan, which made him start spiraling mentally. But he managed to collect himself and pressed on.

@ Undertake a Journey
d: Action=4+Wits=2=6 vs Challenge=10,9 -> Miss
=> Pay the Price -> It is harmful
=> -1 Health
[PC:Brynn|Health 4]

That is, until the fog rolled in and he lost his balance and dropped into a shallow gulch, twisting his ankle.

@ Endure Harm
d: Action=2+Health=4=6 vs Challenge=1,4 -> Strong Hit
=> Embrace the pain -> +1 Momentum
[PC:Brynn|Momentum 7]

But he refused to give up, and rose to the challenge and once again, pressed on.

@ Undertake a Journey
d: Action=3+Wits=2=5 vs Challenge=3,2 -> Strong Hit
=> Move at speed -> +1 Momentum, -1 Supply
[PC:Brynn|Momentum 8|Supply 2]
[Track:Trek to Whiterock Ruin|6/10]

He thought he’d made it to the right place, but...

S6 Whiterock Ruin

@ Reach Your Destination
d: Progress=6 vs Challenge=9,10 -> Miss
=> Journey continues, rank raised by 1, all but 1 progress reset
[Track:Trek to Whiterock Ruin|Dangerous|1/10]

I had to use Oracle guidance to figure out why Brynn didn’t find what he was looking for. Here, I leveraged his Companion asset, the hound Marou and her Keen Senses, which gives a +1 when you Gather Information and +1 Momentum on a hit!

gen: Action / Theme d%=43 + 92 -> Explore / Loss

@ Gather Information (+1 from Marou's keen senses)
d: Action=2+Wits=2+1=5 vs Challenge=3,2 -> Strong Hit
=> +2 Momentum
[PC:Brynn|Momentum 10]
@ Reach a Milestone (The Griefkeeper confirms Ashvine had been here)
[Track:Find Ashvine|2/10]

Brynn did not find Ashvine. Instead, he found someone that called themselves The Griefkeeper. I marked progress on the Vow track (Find Ashvine) here, as I counted it as progress even if it turned out she’s somewhere else.

PC (Brynn): “I need to know where Ashvine went from here.”
N (The Griefkeeper): “Then you must give something in return.”

[N:The Griefkeeper|ancient|ghostlike]

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Afterword

And that, dear reader, is where I’ll stop rambling, and let you get to playing. I hope you found this useful! If you did, leave a like, and if you didn’t, let me know how I can improve on my next attempt.

I also want to take the opportunity to thank zeruhur for creating such an awesome resource and giving it to the community for free! If you’re not subscribed to him already, you’re definitely missing out and he 100% deserves your support!

For now, I hope you have a fantastic day, and I’ll see you in the next one!

1. The plays in the examples are not entirely according to Ironsworn rules: firstly, you should roll on the table first when you enter a new area, to see what kind of area you’re about to enter next—I only did this for the first Delve the Depths move, but then promptly forgot about it in the rest of them. On the second Delve, I both rolled on the table for Find an Opportunity AND took the +1 bonus to the next move. You should choose one or the other. It wouldn’t have made any difference here, just thought I’d mention it. I could easily have come up with the hidden path myself and gotten the bonus that way, so not a huge deal, but once a rules lawyer, always a rules lawyer…