Iron & Myth is a tabletop roleplaying game of dangerous roads, old ruins, desperate choices, and hard-won glory.
It is designed for medieval fantasy campaigns inspired by the older traditions of adventure gaming: dungeon expeditions, wilderness journeys, dangerous magic, faction play, hirelings, treasure, oaths, monsters, saints, curses, and the long shadow of forgotten empires.
Characters in Iron & Myth are not superheroes.
They are sellswords, rangers, priests, mages, wanderers, hunters, pilgrims, and outcasts trying to survive a world older and stranger than they understand.
The game is built for fiction-first play.
Players describe what their characters do.
The Referee describes the world, judges the risk, and calls for dice only when the outcome is uncertain and failure matters.
This booklet is written to teach the game as you play.
You do not need to know every rule before beginning.
Read the opening pages, gather what you need, choose characters, and begin the first scene. The rules will be introduced step by step through play.
To play Iron & Myth, you need:
A group of two to six players.
One Referee to present the world, describe danger, and make rulings.
A character sheet for each player.
Pencils, paper, or something for notes.
A few six-sided, eight-sided, ten-sided, and twelve-sided dice.
A quiet place to talk, ask questions, and imagine the world together.
Iron & Myth uses only four die sizes:
Die | Name |
|---|---|
d12 | twelve-sided die |
d10 | ten-sided die |
d8 | eight-sided die |
d6 | six-sided die |
The game does not require a d20.
When the rules say to roll a Check, you usually roll two Ability Dice and add them together.
Higher dice are better.
From highest to lowest, the dice are:
d12, d10, d8, d6
A d12 represents a defining strength.
A d10 represents strong ability.
A d8 represents capable ability.
A d6 represents serious injury.
The Referee describes the situation.
The players ask questions and say what their characters do.
If the action is clear, the Referee describes what happens.
If the action is uncertain and failure matters, the Referee calls for a Check.
The dice do not replace judgment.
The fiction comes first.
Clever plans, useful tools, good questions, caution, courage, and risk all matter.
Iron & Myth is not a game about finding the right button on a character sheet.
It is a game about making choices in a dangerous world and living with the consequences.