[Interest Check] Modified ACKS Game

I am interested in running an Adventurer Conqueror Kingdom System game here, but with a few caveats/changes from the rules as written. It would also be taking place in a different world/reality from the empire presented in the rules. The following changes to characters apply.

- Ability generation would be using the Heroic Creation rules from the Heroic Fantasy Handbook. (4d6 drop lowest, assign as desired).
- Additional hitpoints equal to one's Constitution Score at 1st level.
- Saving Throws will be reduced to Fortitude, Reflex, and Will (similar to D&D 3.0/3.5e) with modifiers from Constitution, Dexterity and Wisdom applying.
- To make the game a bit more interesting and have some story elements based on character design/interaction, I am going to be limiting class selection and spell selection to the Heroic Fantasy Handbook.

Additionally, most rules will be used from the Heroic Fantasy Handbook. Ceremonial casting will probably be a bit more prevalent than arcane casting.

Please let me know if this sounds interesting to you.

Hello. I've always been interested in trying ACKS, I've never played it but I have the core book, I am not familiar with the supplement.

How is the setting?

The setting is actually a small kingdom surrounded by undeveloped wilderness for the most part. There may be distant kingdoms for trade, but these would mostly be accessible through naval trade routes. The Heroic Fantasy Handbook is an amazing supplement that brings the flavor of The Lord of the Rings to the ACKS ruleset, but also incorporates ideas from the Barbarians of Kanahu rules a bit as well. (It kind of is all over the place in that regard.) It's Heroic Fantasy meets Sword and Sorcery. The darker magic is of course more powerful than grey or white magic, but it will definitely transform its caster in some way.

I always roll up four characters whenever I come up with a campaign to kind of make sure that everything is balanced and that I as a gamesmaster can do what I'm asking other players to do. In that group I have a Freebooter (Ruffian) (a rogue that feels like a fighter); a Loremaster (ceremonial caster), a Thrassian Deathchanter (a lizardfolk type creature which has access to spellsinging and ceremonial magic), and a Runemaker (a ceremonial caster).

Ceremonial casting is basically a roll-to-cast system, provided you have the ritual implements to do so, and if you fail the roll you take on Stigma, damage your ritual implements, or both. If you fail the roll badly enough then other things can happen. Spellsinging is a casting system that uses spellpoints and it first appeared in the Player's Companion supplement for an elven class. Of course Arcane spellcasting or Eldritch spellcasting as it is called (since it uses a different spell list than ACKS basic) is available with certain classes. They are just rarer and require higher ability scores.)

I would absolutely be interested! I've had the rulebook for many years but haven't been able to use it yet.

Sounds like my kind of game!

Thank you for the replies. So here's a little bit more about the setting. (I am trying not to build it out completely just yet because I always find interesting developments when I roll for random aspects.)

The Duchy of Averancia was established 1,000 years ago on a newly discovered island continent. Despite a number of adventurers and explorers signing up to explore the Duchy and help push back the wilderness and dangers; only a single 24 mile hex has been cleared with a majority of that land being developed for farming and woodcutting. Still it was mostly a peaceful nation. The few adventurers that showed up on the boats from time to time were given missions by the Ducal family of Redstone for nearly 800 years. Roughly 200 years ago a very strongly devout religious Duke allowed the Church of Elion to take over the Duchy while he went on a pilgrimage (or was it a crusade? Rumors are conflicted.) on the Old Continent. The Church ruled the nation for ~100 years. Somewhere between 80 and 95 years ago a powerful hero (Nobiran Champion) claiming to be a descendant of the Redstones and heir to the duchy arrived at the capital city, quickly drew a military force and was able to reclaim the Ducal throne without bloodshed. The Bishop of Elion that had been ruling the duchy confirmed this Champion, Eldwin Anvilstar, as the ducal heir and held a crowning ceremony for him almost immediately. Since then the Church of Elion has very strictly acted only as advisors to the ducal family. Four generations have passed and the Anvilstars lineage remained dukes during that time (although the Nobiran bloodline may be a bit diluted due to marriage with human races). 3 Years ago, Duke Frederic Anvilstar (a man in his early 20s who had not yet taken a wife) disappeared suddenly and without notice. The lords of the realm conducted a thorough search throughout the duchy, but no sign of the duke could be found. This event has led to some chaos and catastrophe over the next two years. Petitions to the Old Continent have gone unanswered and rumors of a major war consuming the continent have managed to reach the shores of Averancia. Trading and mercantile establishments tied to the Anvilstar family began renouncing their claims in the duchy and sailing on ships back to the Old Continent. Many of the adventuring guilds and heroes of the realm also returned to the Old Continent since the power vacuum left by the Duke's absence was not filling anytime soon and there was no consensus among the lords of the realm on how to pay its heroes as this was something that was always done by the Ducal family. One year ago through today: Lord Chamberlain Porlyn Amberstead is the de facto "ruler" of the duchy of Averancia, a nation bound in uncertainty, danger, and (at times) hope. Lord Amberstead has put out a general call for heroes offering coffers of silver for anyone able to help bring Averancia back to some semblance of its former glory. He is also calling for men-at-arms, but with the war on the Old Continent, most competent warriors have made their way there for gold and undying glory, so unless some windfall or another is found or recovered, Lord Amberstead fears for the future of the Duchy.

Because I am limiting the class selection to those from Heroic Fantasy Handbook, I thought I would go ahead and list those here with ideas of how they might fit into the campaign. (They do not have to fit in this way, and you are certainly encouraged to come up with your own ways that they could fit into the campaign.)

Beastmaster - A lightly armored warrior that can take trained animals as henchmen. Would likely be enthralled/curious about the wilderness to be "conquered" on the island continent.

Berserker - A lightly armored warrior that can enter a combat fury. What few berserkers were present in Averancia have probably made their way back to the Old Continent for greater treasure and glory. (Has a Viking or other pre-classical feel).

Chosen - A special class that is very hard to get into due to Ability Score requirements. The Chosen receives gifts and knowledge from beyond mortal ken allowing them to take powers and abilities normally associated with other heroic classes. The Chosen could literally be someone chosen by a god (Elion?) or some other power.

Ecclesiastic - This is similar to a "cleric" - a holy warrior or priest with access to ceremonial magic. In this campaign, the default ecclesiastic will be the Servants or Priests of the Church of Elion, but if you have a cool idea for a different church or deity, please include it.

Elven Spellsinger - This is the only elven class in this campaign. Unlike many other heroic classes, the Elven Spellslinger is a full Eldritch Caster, except he or she uses spellpoints instead of spell slots for song magic. Due to the very harmful nature of casting black magic, Spellsingers have been fleeing the Old Continent with its major war in an effort to avoid being impressed into the destruction of their own souls. They are rare enough as it is.

Freebooter - This is the human "thief" of the campaign, though the many different types of freebooter also have a fighting specialty as well.

Halfling Bounder - Halflings can be found in abundance in Averancia due to the farming and forestry that the duchy has required over the past thousand years and the relatively peaceful existence that the island continent's isolation affords the duchy. The bounder is the warrior of the halflings, but quick with wits as well as actions.

Halfling Burglar - This is the halfling "thief" of the campaign.

Loremaster - Human sages who can also cast ceremonial magic. The Loremaster is the common "mage" or "magic user" but without phenomenal cosmic power.

Nobiran Champion - The Nobirans are a race of humanoids descended from the Ancient Gods. The Nobiran Champion is one who feels the pull in his blood very succinctly and has a great desire to see evil and darkness perish so that humans can prevail in the end. This would probably play like a D&D Paladin. Almost a hundred years ago, a powerful Nobiran Champion called Eldwin Anvilstar laid claim to the Ducal crown of Averancia. His descendants most likely also have at least a trace of Nobiran blood.

Nobiran Wizard - As above, the Nobirans are a race of humanoids descended from the Ancient Gods. The Nobiran Wizard is one whose divine power still flows through his veins in some form or another. As a result, the Nobiran Wizard can cast Eldritch Spells the traditional way and does not need to use ceremonial magic. Some are called to act on behalf of the forces of good and of humankind against encroaching darkness, but some have been known to succumb to temptation and employ darker arts even against their former allies. Most Nobiran Wizards can identify one another on sight, so rare are these creatures.

Occultist - Some ceremonial casters pursue power at any cost and are able to achieve it by performing some of the most terrible ceremonies and rituals known to man, tying their souls to demonic and chthonic powers. These Occultists are inherently evil and tied very specifically with black magic. I don't recommend this as a player class for this game, but if you feel like you must I would allow a redeemed version of an Occultist. Someone who broke free of their dark bond and is pursuing some type of redemption before their end. This is kind of like a Warlock, but with ceremonial magic instead of true magic.

Runemaker - A pre-classical ceremonial caster (Viking-feel or some other pre-classical civilization) that uses runic implements for their magic.

Thrassian Deathchanter - A lizardfolk-type creature with access to ceremonial magic and some other powers, usually specifically tied to black magic. I don't recommend this as a player class. If you feel like you must though, I would allow a redeemed version, or a Thrassian Deathchanter that is attempting to do good/right wrongs and otherwise redeem him/herself before the end.

Venturer - An explorer focused on trade goods and trade routes. (If you really want to play as one of these, we would have to do some kingdom management/economic management storylines to let the best aspects of the character class come forward. Not impossible, but just a warning for others.)

Warmistress - A lightly armored female warrior who can use her beauty and charisma to great advantage. (Modeled after Red Sonja I believe). If anyone wants to, I would allow this to be a male version also (Blademaster).

Zaharan Darklord Where the Nobirans are descended from Ancient Gods, the Zaharans are Demonspawn and are inherently fueled by black magic. (Not recommended as Player Class unless you want to play a redeemed one.) Zaharan Darklords have a natural charisma and power over beastmen (orcs, goblins, etcetera) and other intelligent chaotic monsters. They can also cast eldritch magic, but it is limited compared to full casters like the Nobiran Wizard and the Zaharan Sorcerer.

Zaharan Sorcerer Where the Nobirans are descended from Ancient Gods, the Zaharans are Demonspawn and are inherently fueled by black magic. (Not recommended as Player Class unless you want to play a redeemed one.) Zaharan Sorcerers can cast eldritch magic and perform chthonic ceremonies and have additional powers based on their chosen Path of Darkness.

I hope to roll a Chosen and be the Chosen of the sun.

But, Beast Master if not super lucky.

Freebooter or Berserker sounds fun!

Thank you for the interest, everyone. I'd like to have at least four PCs, so I guess I'll make up an official Recruitment Thread. (Still Learning Gamers Plane so bear with me.)

If no further interest arises, we could just play 2 characters each.

Thanks for the post. This sounds like a very interesting game. I've played ACKS before and liked it quite a bit.

I'd like to stay tuned and see what you decide about the game launch.

Do you have a prediction of how frequent you would like players to post? (once/day, 3 times/week, etc.)

Thanks again.

Nice work. Seems like a great concept for storylines and character development.

Wow. Quite an array of unconventional Classes.

If I were in the Players' Club, I would like to consider a Nobiran Champion. Possible concept that he would be a loyalist striving to recover and restore the aristocratic ducal rule.

If scores are low, or maybe just to go another direction, alternate choice would be Beastmaster. More of a lower caste guy who wants to make his own way and improve his station by winning wealth and glory. Not sure what beasts would fit well. I will study the Class references, but also would follow the DM's lead on a fitting animal group for the training specialty.

Thanks again. I would expect at least a post every three days at the minimum, though posting more often will of course be encouraged. We also want to make sure that everyone has an equal voice, so if you notice that others haven't caught up yet, keep it slow until they can. I'll post this in the game forum when I get it set up. (Soon as I can figure out how to do that.)

Outstanding. I see the game page is up and looks great.
Currently it shows Game Status as "Closed for game applications".

Will you allow applicants now, or is there a waiting time before release?

Also, I downloaded the PDF of the reference book - got a better understanding of the classes. Quite interesting.

Thanks for your work, DM.

I plan to post an official Recruitment thread where players can roll for stats and generate their characters that way. I have tried to bolden important things in the text on the game page, but it doesn't always stand out (I may have to use a different color). One thing that is very important is that Ability Score generation is slightly modified from heroic rules in the HFH. Players may arrange their scores in ANY ORDER; it does not have to be straight down the line as in the rules as written.

If you need extra ways to make text stand out, you might want to look into the formatting menu - it's the F button above the post input field, next to the linebreak and the colour tag. (Just thought I'd mention it since people miss it sometimes. :D)

In case anyone wasn't aware, we now have a Recruitment Thread up in the tavern for the Chronicles of Averancia.