# Creation Thought: Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny - D&D From Ironsworn tags: #thoughts #game/rpg/dnd #game/rpg/ironsworn ![[Ironsworn (cover).jpg|200]] ![[Delve (cover).jpg|200]] I was having a lovely stroll today out in the mingled bright sunlight and sprinkling rain (because that's the thing that happens here in the South; [Lucifer is a bit of a domestic abuser, it would seem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshower#:~:text=In%20the%20Southern%20United%20States,devil%20is%20kissing%20his%20wife%22.)), and by the time I had come back in, my hard copy, hardback versions of **[[Ironsworn]]** and **[[Ironsworn|Delve]]** had finally shown up at my front door, as a result of getting a very generous coupon for having them printed from the **[[Ironsworn|Sundered Isles]]** Kickstarter. The covers are beautiful and bright and while the interior is printed on a fairly textured matte paper, I don't mind it. It's not as pretty inside as **[[Ironsworn - Starforged|Starforged]]** but it is the progenitor. It gets the benefits of age. But having these two fairly hefty texts in my hands, knowing what you can actually buy them for online or in your local shop, I was struck. **[[Dungeons and Dragons|Dungeons & Dragons]]** is threatening a new edition, one which is almost guaranteed to suck all the vibrancy and color out of [Greyhawk](https://dungeons.fandom.com/wiki/Canon:Greyhawk) as aggressively as they can make it bland mush for their "modern audience". There are 10,000 better games which do **D&D** better than **D&D** has done for itself for decades now… How close could I get out of the box, conceptually, to bog standard **Dungeons & Dragons** with **Ironsworn**? It's not a class-based system, it's an Asset-based system. Some of the underlying assumptions about the cultural and population space of the game are not quite in alignment. What would **D&D** (more specifically [Greyhawk-derived **D&D**](https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/9m1l4b/greyhawk_vs_forgotten_realms_whats_the_difference/) but I'm thinking two steps more generic) look like if reinterpreted/reimplemented with right out of the book **Ironsworn**? I don't know, but expect to find out over the next couple of weeks as I put together some articles talking about doing just that. And then doing it while you watch. What's the point of talking about a thing if you don't actually do it? This isn't the first time that we've tinkered with **[[Ironsworn]]** here in the garden: - [[hybrid-chain-reaction-ironsworn-bitd-resolution|Chain Reaction 2023 / Ironsworn / Blades in the Dark : Initial Thoughts: Resolution Comparison]] - [[neurothrope-muses-on-ironsworn-world-building|Neurothrope Muses on Ironsworn World-Building]] - [[Hollow Places of the Soul]] - The beginnings of a longform actual play. Yes, yes – I know that there are a ton of absolutely incredible add-ons and expansions for **Ironsworn** made by third parties because the license is very open and accessible, some of which [deliberately go out of their way to reimplement things like classes by expanding context of the mechanics](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/435293/Vaults--Vows-Ironsworn-Asset-Pack).^[Admittedly, Vaults & Vows is pretty cool.] Using one of them would be way too easy. We are going in RAW. Hang around, I hope you enjoy what's to come. If this is the sort of thing you're interested in, follow my socials or keep updating **[[index|Grim Tokens]]** looking for new Articles. > [!help]- Contacts > > ![[index#Contact]] --- PS: If you are interested in playing what is effectively a more modern, better implemented, better described, and ultimately less expensive **D&D** but for some reason you don't vibe with **Ironsworn** (you poor benighted soul), you might want to check out **[[Fantasy World]]**, which is a more [[Powered by the Apocalypse|PbtA]]-flavored version. I think you'll like it.