[Closed] Chronicles of Averancia (ACKS: HFH)

Welcome, adventurers! I invite you to join me in a world on the brink of change, where heroes are called to restore a once-great duchy to its former glory. Below, you'll find all the information you need to become part of the Chronicles of Averancia campaign. Read on, and if you feel the call, I eagerly await your application.

The Story
The Duchy of Averancia, a realm with a history stretching back a thousand years, was once a beacon of civilization on a newly discovered island continent. For centuries, the Ducal family of Redstone, and later the Anvilstar lineage, guided the duchy with wisdom and strength. But three years ago, Duke Frederic Anvilstar vanished without a trace, leaving the land in turmoil.

As chaos spread, trade faltered, adventurers returned to the Old Continent, and the lords of the realm squabbled over the vacant throne. Now, the de facto ruler, Lord Chamberlain Porlyn Amberstead, has issued a desperate call for heroes. Will you answer it? Will you rise to the challenge and help bring Averancia back from the brink? The fate of the duchy rests in your hands.

The Setting
Chronicles of Averancia is set in a world of low fantasy, where magic is rare and the challenges are many. The duchy itself occupies a single 24-mile hex on a vast, untamed island continent. The land is a mix of ancient forests, dangerous wilderness, and scattered settlements. The Church of Elion, once the ruler of the duchy, now serves as an advisor to the Anvilstar family, whose bloodline has grown thin over the generations.

The campaign will explore themes of power, legacy, and the struggle for survival in a land where every decision could spell the difference between hope and despair. The world is gritty, the stakes are high, and your actions will shape the future of Averancia.

The Meta
System: Adventurer Conqueror King System (ACKS), using the Heroic Fantasy Handbook
Tone: Low fantasy, dark, and gritty
Character Level: Starting at level 1
Magic: Rare and precious, often tied to powerful artifacts or deep knowledge
World Dynamics: A living world where your actions have lasting consequences
Expect a campaign where every decision matters, and the survival of the duchy depends on your ability to navigate political intrigue, dangerous quests, and the mysteries of a land forgotten by time.

Play Style
Role-Playing: Strong emphasis on character development, interactions, and moral choices
Combat: Tactical and challenging, with consequences that can last beyond the battlefield. I will be using gridded maps with tokens for combat resolution, especially Loke's battle maps. I feel like the grid system is the easiest way to run a combat in pbp.
Exploration: Discover the secrets of Averancia's wild lands, ancient ruins, and forgotten lore
Decision-Making: Your choices will impact the world, shaping the story in unexpected ways
I prefer a collaborative storytelling experience, where players are encouraged to contribute to the narrative and bring their characters to life in meaningful ways. Expect a mix of structured sessions and open-world exploration.

How To Apply
If you’re interested in joining Chronicles of Averancia, please follow the application process below:

Pre. Look over the Game Information to see what rules are being used.
1. Use this recruitment thread to roll up your ability scores and create a character to suit.
2. Include their background, motivations, and how they might fit into the story.
3. Let me know your availability, posting frequency, and any preferences for scheduling.
4. If you have any questions or need clarification, feel free to ask in your application.
Please submit your application in the Recruitment Thread below. I will review submissions and reach out to potential players for further discussion.

I like the ACKS, and your gritty low-magic aesthetics is right on. So, I'd like to give it a whirl at proposing a Character.

If acceptable, I'll roll here to see what potential I'm working with and then post back later after a time to design. I need to read up a bit more on the Classes.

I'm admittedly a bit intimidated about taking on the more complex magic-user systems, so I lean towards creating a simple, retro-classic combat oriented hoss. Nobira Champion, Freebooter, Beastmaster in the lead for my preference at the moment - but we'll see.

So, clicking for the rolls now.

--------------

Edit Entry to post results:

1. 15
2. 13
3. 14
4. 15
5. 12
6. 12

So, about normal. No liabilities from exceptionally low scores, but no sky-high hits either.

If you need to know the numbers, I believe the average result of 4d6-lowest die is 11.5, so those ability scores are definitely in the B, B+ range.

Yes. Not bad.
I would like to build a Nobiran Champion character with this chassis.
Will follow up later this week with a picture, character sheet, and proposed brief background.
General concept is a frustrated but driven youth who wishes to overcome his low station as the illegitimate and unclaimed son of a foreign Lord.

Thanks!

Hey, Jomsviking. Where did your post go? I saw the entry of you "Boy and his dog" roll. Was expecting to see a cool Beastmaster with two 16s.
You deleted the post?

Hail the Beastmaster.
Let's GO!!

Aundovald (Level 1 Nobiran Champion). Sometimes referred to locally as Aundovald Ryder.

A native of Averancia, Aundovald grew up in a theater house in his early years, the son of a beautiful but low-caste singer, dancer, musician mother. His father is the rarely visiting foreign knight-turned-aristocrat Arius Lord Tascus from the Old Continent. But Aundovald is an illegitimate son, so has no relationship with his foreign noble father who now lives across the oceans (other than a painful and secret longing to be recognized and accepted by him).

Earning food and lodging first as a farrier, then as a rancher and patrolman for a wealthy landowner, Aundovald departed from his disordered home early in life and made his own way. Now he seeks wealth, influence, and, most of all, glory. He is determined to prove, to himself and everyone else, that he comes from higher stock. He is not a lowly laborer or theater actor, but instead has the blood of heroes in his veins. Aundovald is by his father's line a Nobiran, like the champions of legend, and will prove it so.

Now 17 years old, Aundovald recently heard the call-to-arms letter of Lord Chamberlain Amberstead read aloud. The headstrong young Armiger responds without delay.

Stats:
STR 15
INT 13
WIS 12
DEX 14
CON 15
CHA 12

Nice rolls there, you even got a +2 modifier (the 16). Looking forward to the character.

I like it. The picture is cool too. (If anyone is skilled in making the character sheets for Gamers Plane, please feel free to make one and share it.)

I have an ACKS form fillable PDF version that I've been tooling around with here. I've never loaded a Character Sheet here on GP before, but will try it tomorrow when I get another block of time.

Additional starting rolls.

Humbly requesting a monk's belt, in the future.
Even though it doesnt exist in ACKS

Monk's belt is a little too powerful for ACKS campaign. Even the Mystic (the ACKS version of Monk from Player's Companion) doesn't get Monk level unarmed damage. I would allow something like Gloves of the Iron Fist: Your unarmed attacks deal 1d6 damage and you can use your hands to block weapon attacks, gaining +1 AC. But you would need to take the Unarmed Combat proficiency to use it. Also you would be limited to Medium Armor or lower since blocking attacks with your gloved hands requires mobility. This is also a magic item though, so something to earn through adventure or research if you decide to go that route. Edit: Also, you wouldn't be able to use a shield since that kind of gets in the way of the whole "wax on, wax off" thing.

Beastmaster cant use armor or shields so no problem there. It seems to favor hit and fade tactics. Its onlybdefensive ability being stealth.

How do you mechanically handle stealth?

That's in your class description, but if there are any further questions I would basically treat this like the thief's hide attempts. "Outdoors, beastmasters are difficult to spot, having the ability to seemingly disappear into woods and underbrush with a proficiency throw of 3+ on 1d20. In dungeons, a beastmaster who is motionless and quiet in cover can escape detection with a proficiency throw of 14+ on 1d20." So basically, you'd roll a check for Stealth, 3 or 14, 1d20. (exampled on this post below)

Edit: So, in this example, the outdoor stealth check was successful and the dungeon/cavern stealth check wasn't.

What about in a city? Or is the assumption we are virtuous and wouldn't want to test the response of the law?

"Oh yeah you're Locke the Thief."
"Treasure Hunter!"

In your campaign is the distinction meaningful? That is to say I am trying to have fun, not play medieval justice system simulation "N".

I also would like you to have fun as well. Figure clearly communicating our mutual plan/expectation can only increase our cohesion. I also don't want to play Garret from Thief the Video Game if that is something you find tiresome or boring.

I am considering proficiencies at the moment I am positive I will take Running, am divided on weapon finesse or sniper.

I would almost assume that if your character favors the wilds that they would prefer not to socialize, so as long as you are outdoors and there is some type of vegetation or natural environment around you, you could use the outdoor hiding check. Being indoors, however, like inside a building, I think could be rather disorienting for your Beastmaster, but if there are large objects around that you could potentially take cover behind, I would rule that as being in a dungeon/cavern setting unless it is very brightly lit. A gallery of statues, yes. A small office or bedroom, no. A warehouse with lots of boxes around, yes. An empty warehouse, no. A cathedral that's well lit, no. A cathedral that's full of shadowy areas, yes. So basically, try to be aware of your surroundings. If you are outdoors with some type of vegetation or other natural landmark nearby, you can use the outdoor hiding check. If you are outdoors on a cobbled street or in an alley between buildings, you cannot use either type of hiding. Although if it is an alley with a lot of boxes or large objects that you could take cover behind, you can use the dungeon/cavern check. If you are indoors in a large area with lots of things to take cover behind (columns, statues, boxes, etc) or which is filled with a lot of shadows, you can use the dungeon/cavern hiding check. If you are indoors in a small area or in an area that is well lit, you can not use either type of hiding ability.Most of this will be talked about in the discussion threads once I can get enough applicants to start inviting them. We have a lot of rules to kind of rehash and go over before we can get into the storyline proper.

Edit: Also, if it makes things easier, I will definitely mark areas on the battle maps that provide cover if any are present.

I can already tell we are going to get along great.

Not the Bat, the Raven.

Sorry, statastician nerd intruding. The mean of a single 4d6 drop lowest roll is 12.24. The median is 12. Here is the Tukey five-number summary including mean:



And @Shadowknight, I'm going to purchase those two rulebooks (in PDF) and consider the campaign. The way you described it is definitely intriguing, and there are a couple of campaigns which I joined which seem to have gone defunct :(

Ah, thank you for the clarification. Still, with at least half of the rolls 13 or above, I think it was a solid B.

Feel free. I can't guarantee that I will post as often as I have been during the recruitment process in the future, but right now I don't have much else to do, other than work. I was looking at Aryxmaraki's Almanac on DTRPG to see if I wanted to include it in this game (as it is supposed to be completely compatible with the Heroic Fantasy Handbook), but I'm still not sure about it just yet.

Edit: Also, there are SRDs out there for both books if you can find them. I know that ACKS has several SRDs posted around. I could only find one for HFH and it's not complete yet. But I also could recommend going ahead and purchasing them, both to support the work and to see the unique IP made for the ACKS game.