ACKS II, Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/Autarch/posts

I really like what I see over on the Autarch Patreon and the revisions and previews of the ACKS II rules. What would you get if you could take a game that was admittedly more of a B/X style game and rebuild it into its own thing?

Something closer to the creator's original vision of the experience of living and playing in a world.

This is where B/X and the OGL hold us back. When creators decide between "doing their own thing" versus "doing the familiar," I feel the latter often wins because of market pressures to keep the game accessible to a broader audience.

AI Art by @nightcafestudio

ACKS II is going to be unique. The revamped spells are interesting. The gear is being rebuilt. The classes feel interesting. This is not "I run in and cast magic missile" anymore. This is a game being built to a vision.

Part of why "generic B/X" feels like "seen one, seen them all" is that once you have your hands on the best version that fits your idea of the classic experience, you have it all. For me, this is three games:

• Dungeon Crawl Classics
• Castles & Crusades
• Old School Adventures

I don't need anything else other than those to play anything B/X. Admittedly, they are each a flavor and interpretation of the game, from Appendix N inspirational to streamlined AD&D to a strict encyclopedia of the original rules. ACKS was great, but not as great as those three for recreating the classic game. There is greatness hiding in ACKS: the Middle Ages, 4X, dark magic, Conan meets the New World, sort of civilizational conflict.

The new game is built around that experience. Everything is flavor. The classes support the conflict. You have to earn your class titles. This isn't "that incredible world" seen through the lens of B/X, like the old game - this game is built to experience that world: classes that support the theme and toss out the debris of B/X for new and original ideas.

This is turning into one of my most anticipated games this year.