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| AI Art by @nightcafestudio |
From the latest Ascendent email update, we got a lot of information for the ACKS 2 project and its goals, quoted below. This information comes from Autarch via that email:
I also need to make a special announcement - a new Kickstarter! If you enjoyed Ascendant for its robust simulation of a superhero world, you might be interested in my latest game, the Adventurer Conqueror King System Imperial Imprint (ACKS II), will be crowdfunding on Kickstarter on October 24, 2023.
Built on over a decade of additional playtesting and hundreds of hours of methodical research and development, ACKS II is a three-volume D20 fantasy RPG squarely focused on the long-neglected simulationist gamer.
Since the inception of the Old School Renaissance in 2008, there have been countless retro-clones of D20 fantasy games. Any gamer seeking an old-school RPG has a thousand options. But ACKS II isn't like any of those games. Because with ACKS II you get:
Endgame action that's more than just a treadmill of higher HD foes. Build and run domains, conquer your enemies in grand wars, break the laws of magic with ritual experiments, run a criminal syndicate, even anoint yourself a god and empower yourself with the worship of your loyal subjects. The experience point mechanics integrate campaign activities into the core gameplay loop, enabling your character to level up in new ways as his temporal power grows!
Epic pitched battles as grand as any in fiction or history. Don't settle for so-called "mass combat" rules that can't handle battles bigger than a few hundred combatants. With ACKS II you can field armies that measure in the hundreds of thousands and fight hordes that make the earth shiver.
Integrated in-game economics that make sense. Naysayers will claim that fantasy adventure worlds can never have plausible in-game economies. ACKS II proves them wrong with a robust economic system that's easy to use because we've done all the heavy lifting for you.
Sandbox setting design that emphasizes player agency. Our clear, comprehensive (and comprehensible!) guidelines, based on the top down zoom-in method in our book Arbiter of Worlds, help your world come to life.
Fractal design with modular rules. ACKS II is designed to let you focus on what matters to your campaign, diving as deeply as you want into any area of the game knowing that it just works at every level.
Customizable and transparent construction tools. We open up the hood and let you see how the ACKS II engine runs. Build your own custom classes, spells, magic types, monsters, and more, knowing that anything you create will mesh well and balance properly with the canon material.
Fearsome fighters that can change the course of a pitched battle. Say goodbye to "quadratic mages and linear fighters" and embrace epic heroism. Combat mechanics for cleaves, sweep attacks, and special maneuvers allow your fighters to conduct a symphony of slaughter on the battlefield.
Thrilling thieves that lead the way in dungeon delves and urban adventures. In ACKS II, thieves are skilled experts from level one. With special mechanics for shadowy senses, hasty searching, hijinks, and more, thieves can finally steal the spotlight.
Whatever you've ever wanted to do in a fantasy world -- ACKS II already does that.
Do you want to play a game with the breadth, depth, and verisimilitude of Ascendant optimized for sandbox play in a fantasy world? If that's what you want... Then ACKS II is for you.
Three volumes? That is news to me, wow.
Many of these concepts I watched develop in the zine-like releases from the Axioms expansions. I love the higher-level magical experimentation of mages that makes the class feel more than a cloth-armored artillery piece. Running your own dungeon to breed monsters, create crossbreeds, and lure in foolish adventurers is a playstyle.
It feels like a grand epic game of Crusader Kings at the high levels, which is amazing.
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| AI Art by @nightcafestudio |
I am excited for this game. Very few B/X clones do the high-level game that BECMI tried to simulate and do it right with an even distribution of 'fun stuff' to get involved with for every class. There is a trading game with a trading-focused class, which opens up a whole new area of play for OSR gaming.
And they are going all-in on their world for sandbox play. If you want to support your own, it works, but having a GTA-style sandbox to play in with the classes and themes strongly supported is a plus.
ACKS is my 'serious B/X' game and completely replaces 5E. For me, 5E focuses too much on blinders-on-player power, and the world is not part of your experience. With ACKS, the world is a part of your character, making a huge difference in motivation. As your character levels up, parts of the game unlock, and your class affects the campaign world - however you choose to do so.
Almost no B/X game does this, slowly turning into an epic sandbox wargame at high levels.
I am super-excited about this game, one of my most-anticipated of 2023.
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